FINAL SCORE: RV UMass 11, Vermont 7
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Despite a four-goal showing from junior midfielder Tristan Whitaker, Vermont (2-3) fell 11-7 to UMass (5-1) on a chilly Saturday afternoon from Virtue Field.

RELATED LINKS
Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Hat's off to UMass, I thought they came ready to play on a cold, windy day. It took us a little time to get going, but at the end of the day we have to make sure we are executing for 60 minutes if we want to have a chance to compete against teams like UMass," said head coach Chris Feifs. "Now our focus is on UMBC and getting back to work."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UMass scored two goals to begin the opening frame, but Cullen Decker got Vermont on the scoreboard scoring with 4:03 left in the first quarter, cutting the Minutemen lead in half, 2-1.
• Following a response from UMass to regain a two-goal advantage, Whitaker scored his fourth goal of the season with 3:16 remaining on the clock in the opening frame, maneuvering through defenders and ripping a bounce shot to the top left corner, bringing the Catamounts back to within one, 3-2.
• A buzzer beater goal from Luke Reiter, his third goal of the season, sent Vermont into the second frame down by one goal, 4-3.
• In the opening 7:53 of action in the second quarter, UMass orchestrated a three-goal offensive surge, gaining a 7-3 lead, forcing Vermont to call a timeout and regroup with 7:07 remaining on the clock in the second frame.
• Vermont halted the UMass offensive surge, seeing Harrison Josloff connect with Whitaker for his second goal of the game, fifth of the season, making the score 7-4 in favor of the Minutemen.
• The Catamounts bounced back from a UMass response, witnessing Kean Pare score his first career goal with just 12 seconds remaining until halftime, sending Vermont into halftime down by three, 8-5.
• UMass scored two goals in the third quarter which looked like the only two goals that were going to be scored in the quarter, but Whitaker recorded his hattrick goal with 30 seconds left on the clock, bringing the Catamounts to within four, 10-6, heading into the final frame of action.
• UVM opened scoring in the final quarter, seeing Decker feed Whitaker for his fourth goal of the game, closing the deficit to three goals as UMass still led 10-7 with 6:47 remaining in the game.
• Trace Hogan delivered his third goal of the game with just 54 seconds remaining, sealing the deal and earning UMass the 11-7 victory from Virtue Field on Saturday afternoon.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Whitaker tied a game high four goals on Saturday afternoon, the fourth time in his career scoring four or more goals in a single game.
• Whitaker also tied a game high five shots on goal. 
• Decker added a goal and an assist to go along with four shots on net.
• Pare scored his first career goal to go along with one assist, two shots on goal, two ground balls, and one caused turnover on Saturday. It was also his first career multi-point game.
• Josloff registered one assist against the Minutemen.
• Henry Doge tallied a game high 10 ground balls and earned a game high 10 faceoff wins (11-14).
• Vermont recorded 25 ground balls to the Minutemen's 22.
• UVM went 15-21 from the faceoff spot.

 
UP NEXT
The Catamounts get ready to begin conference play, traveling down to Baltimore, MD for an afternoon matchup with UMBC on Saturday (Mar. 15). The Conference opener has opening faceoff scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
For news and updates about the Vermont men's lacrosse program, follow @UVMmlax on X, Facebook, and Instagram, and visit UVMathletics.com.
 
The Farmer Companies is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's lacrosse.