FINAL SCORE: Vermont 16, New Hampshire 13
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Ava Vasile tallied a game-high seven points as Vermont (5-6, 2-2 AE) rallied back from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat New Hampshire (3-7, 1-2 AE) 16-13 on Saturday afternoon at Virtue Field.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"I'm just really proud of our team," head coach Sarah Dalton Graddock said. "We've had some ups and downs recently and they've just been sticking together. They're playing hard and they have each other's backs, and they just keep believing in themselves, our gameplan, and execution. It's just a really awesome win that we that we needed."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Vermont jumped out to an early lead when Vasile notched her 27th goal of the season just 30 seconds into the game.
• UNH answered 2:12 later with Liv Dunn tying the game at 1-1. Mackenzie MacEachern put the Wildcats ahead with a woman-up goal to lead 2-1 with 11:11 left in the opening frame.
• The Catamounts rattled off two-straight goals to pull back in front. McKenzie Ballard netted her ninth goal of the season after receiving a pass from Meghan O'Connor. Ballard assisted on Vasile's second goal of the quarter, which put Vermont up 3-2 with 3:44 left.
• Sydney Sventy knotted the game at 3-3 less than a minute later as the Catamounts and Wildcats finished the opening frame tied.
• New Hampshire took the lead with Katie Taranto's 29th goal of the season 6:25 into the second quarter. Grace Curran put the Wildcats up 5-3 minutes later.
• Lily Trainor ended the UNH scoring run with her fifth goal of the season, converting on a pass from Jane Trauger to cut the lead to 5-4 with 3:20 left in the first half.
• New Hampshire's lead expanded to three when MacEachern scored two goals in a span of 58 seconds. The junior's second tally gave the Wildcats a 7-4 advantage with 1:20 left in the second quarter.
• The Catamounts answered with two goals in the final 1:07 of the opening half to cut the lead to 7-6 at the break. Vasile scored her third goal of the afternoon on a free-position shot, and Ciera Licare netted her fourth marker of the season to cut the deficit to one.
• Kendall Traveis tied the game at 7-7 for Vermont, scoring just 11 seconds into the third quarter. Vasile was credited with the assist on the equalizer.
• UNH retook the lead, which grew to two goals on tallies from Rose Pavuk and Curran to go up 9-7 with 6:42 left in the third frame.
• Vermont and New Hampshire exchanged a pair of goals each in the final minutes of the third quarter as the Catamounts entered the fourth quarter down 11-9.
• Vasile started UVM's fourth-quarter run when she won the draw control to begin the frame, and took it to the net for her fourth goal of the afternoon. The senior's tally kickstarted a 3-0 run for the Catamounts who took a 12-11 lead with 12:13 remaining
• UNH countered with two-straight goals to pull back in front, up 13-12 with 10:24 left in the fourth quarter.
• Trauger quickly netted the tying goal 44 seconds later with her 26th marker of the season. The rookie added a free-position goal with 5:40 remaining for the winning tally.
• Licare and Vasile added insurance goals for the Catamounts in the final minutes.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vasile's seven points matched a career-high. The senior scored five goals and added two assists in the win. Vasile also recorded a career-high 15 shots, which included 11 directed on goal. The midfielder pulled in nine draw controls and scooped up four ground balls.
• Trauger had five points, producing four goals and one assist. The rookie scored all of her goals in the second half, with three of them coming in the fourth quarter.
• Ballard recorded her second hat trick of the season, scoring three goals and adding one assist.
• Licare's two goals marked the first multi-goal outing of her career.
• Carolyn Carrera recorded four ground balls and four caused turnovers on the defensive end.
• Sophie McLaughlin registered eight saves in goal for the Catamounts.
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to King Street Center as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $80,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.  

UP NEXT
Vermont returns to action on Saturday (Apr. 15) when it hosts Rutgers at Virtue Field. The opening draw is set for 12 p.m. ET and will broadcast live on ESPN 3. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office on gameday. Saturday is Youth Day, presented by Healthy Living.