Tweet #VCats | Follow @UVMwlax
FINAL SCORE: Vermont 15, Sacred Heart 8 | Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Vermont women's lacrosse topped Sacred Heart by a score of 15-8 in non-conference action Saturday as head coach Jen Johnson collected her 77^th win at UVM and became the program's all-time winningest coach. Vermont improved to 5-3 on the season, while Sacred Heart dropped to 2-4 overall.
 
Johnson passed John Carter, who coached the Catamounts from 1984-97, for most wins as a head coach in program history. Johnson has guided the Catamounts to at least seven wins in each of the past four seasons, including a program-high 12 victories last year.
 
Jessica Roach and Vanessa VanderZalm led the way for the Catamounts with a combined eight goals and four assists in the contest. Roach tallied a game-high eight points (5 g, 3 ast), collecting her third game of the season with at least five goals. VanderZalm registered four points in her second straight game with three goals and one assist. Alex Bernier, Bailey Saneman and Elena McWright added two goals each to help pace the offense.
 
Jenna Liljeberg provided half the scoring for Sacred Heart with four goals, while four other Pioneers contributed a goal apiece, including Llana Doyle, who also added a pair of assists.
 
Meg Hopkins and Mackenzie Maher combined to make four saves in goal for Vermont, and Hopkins picked up her fifth win of the year. Paige Hammick made three saves and took the loss for Sacred Heart.
 
The Catamounts went on a 3-0 run to begin the game, receiving goals from Bernier, VanderZalm and Saneman to take an early lead at the 24:04 mark.
 
Later in the period with Vermont holding a 4-2 advantage, the Catamounts rallied for four straight goals from four different scorers to take an 8-2 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.
 
Sacred Heart responded with a pair of goals from Liljeberg, but Saneman answered back with her second goal of the contest to extend UVM's lead to 9-4. Caitlin Delaney notched the final goal of the half, as UVM headed into the break with a 9-5 advantage.
 
After the Pioneers registered two of the opening three goals in the second half, Vermont responded with three straight scores from Roach, Bernier and McWright to open a 13-7 lead.
 
Roach added two more goals in the final minute-plus of play, and Vermont went on for the 15-8 victory for its second consecutive win.
 
Vermont travels to Hanover, New Hampshire to face Dartmouth on Wednesday, March 18 at 3 p.m. Links to live video and stats are available at UVMathletics.com.