WOMEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK
After an exciting quarterfinal round, No. 6 seeded Vermont (7-7-4) advances to the America East semifinals on Sunday (Oct. 30) at No. 2 seeded Hartford (12-4-1). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Free live video is available in HD via AmericaEast.TV at the links below.

RELATED LINKS
Hartford: Video | Live Stats
America East Championship Central
America East Championship Bracket (pdf.)

ABOUT VERMONT
The Catamounts qualified for their second straight America East semifinal after upsetting third-seeded Stony Brook on Thursday night. Vermont pulled off the upset after topping the Seawolves 3-1 in penalty kicks. Vermont is playing in the semifinals for the third time since the tournament expanded to six teams and is looking for its first trip to the finals.
 
In the penalty shootout, Stony Brook started with a miss but Meg James countered for UVM with the first point. James lined a shot into the top left corner of the net. Casey Garfinkel kept the advantage in UVM's favor by scoring a goal and giving Vermont a 2-0 lead. After a pair of misses by each side, Caitie Green pushed the Cats into the semifinal round with the game-winning goal. Green fired her attempt into the left side of the net past a diving Gallagher. Coco Speckmaier came up huge for the Catamounts with a pair of saves in the shootout.

QUARTERFINAL HISTORY | Stony Brook Highlights
Vermont became just the fourth No. 6 seed and first since 2012 to upset the No. 3 seed in the quarterfinals. The No. 6 seed has advanced to the final twice, including winning the championship in 2012 (Stony Brook).

PENALTY KICKS NEEDED
Vermont's penalty kick victory at Stony Brook marked the first time since 2012 the Catamounts advanced to the semifinals after a shootout. The win also marked the sixth-straight season in America East where penalty kicks were needed to determine a winner.  
 
SCOUTING HARTFORD
The Hawks are eyeing their fourth title game in the last five games, but looking for their first title since 2006. Hartford earned at-least a share of the America East regular season title for the third-straight season and is playing in its sixth straight semifinal. Since 1996, the Hawks have reached the postseason a total of 17 times and captured five tournament titles (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2006) Since Hartford's first appearance, the Hawks have posted a 20-9-3 record in the tournament. The Hawks have reached the title game in three of the last four seasons, but are looking for their first title since 2006. Hartford closed out the regular season with a 7-1-1 record. Hartford had four major awards winners at season's end with Tori Tripp earning America East Midfielder of the Year, Caitlin Smallfield won Defender of the Year, Jessica Jurg was named Goalkeeper of the Year, and Sierra Stone was selected as Co-Rookie of the Year.

SERIES HISTORY
The Catamounts and Hartford have had some epic duels in recent years. The Hawks snuck away from Virtue Field in the regular season with a 1-0 win after Julia Carr tallied a goal in the 74th minute. Prior to this season, the last two meetings required at least an overtime period to determine a winner. In the last three years, two of the last three games have been decided by a one-goal deficit. Vermont tied Hartford 1-1 in last year's match against the eventual America East Championship finalist. Sunday will mark the fifth time in the series history that the two squads will meet in the postseason.
 
WHO'S NEXT
If Vermont can advance to its first America East Championship game, then the Catamounts will be visiting the winner of New Hampshire and Albany on Saturday, November 5. Visit UVMathletics.com for more information about the America East Conference Championship.