FINAL SCORE: #1 Vermont 10, #4 UMBC 7
BURLINGTON, Vt. – A hat trick from
Lydia Doraz helped lift No. 1 Vermont (10-6, 5-1 AE) to a 10-7 victory over No. 4 UMBC (7-8, 2-3 AE) on Friday evening from Virtue Field in the America East Semifinals. With the win, the Catamounts secure a trip to their second America East Championship Game appearance in program history, the first since 2022 when they won their first ever America East Championship.
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
CatamounTV Highlights
COACH'S QUOTE
"I thought our crowd was incredible," said Head Coach
Sarah Dalton Graddock. "You know obviously a lot of butterflies and jitters going into a game like this. For us to weather the storm, UMBC's a great team we knew we were going to have our hands full with them. But I thought when it mattered in terms of draw controls for the first chunk of that game, defensive stops at the end, getting quality goals and going on some key runs was huge for us. We're going to recover and we got a big one on Sunday."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UMBC opened scoring 4:14 into the game when Lizzie Bateman fed Sam Hewitt in front of the net where she buried her 12th goal of the season, earning the Retrievers a 1-0 lead.
- The Catamounts bounced back with 5:52 on the clock in the first quarter while being a woman-up, seeing Doraz wheel her way around the slot, finding Karina Sethi wide open in front of the net, wasting no time using a bounce shot to knot the game at 1-1, notching her 23rd goal of the season.
- Prior to the end of the opening frame, the Retrievers dialed up back-to-back goals, one while being a woman-up from Tess Curtis, and another on a free position opportunity from Emily Knapp, taking a 3-1 advantage into the second quarter.
- Vermont came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter, scoring five unanswered goals throughout the opening nine minutes, gaining a 6-3 advantage. Doraz recorded a hat trick while Jane Trauger and Caitlin Haggerty each found the back of the net once during the Catamounts' offensive surge. Lauren Lefebvre picked up an assist on Doraz's first goal of the game.
- UMBC was able to calm the storm in the final three minutes before halftime, tallying two goals courtesy of Reese Macintosh scoring while being a woman-up and Knapp securing her second of the game with just three second to spare before halftime as Vermont took a 6-5 lead into the break.
- The Retrievers opened scoring in the third quarter after getting an equalizer goal from Macintosh on a free position opportunity, seeing UMBC knot the score at 6-6 with 9:26 on the clock.
- Vermont's Maddie Erskine responded for the Catamounts, scoring back-to-back goals 52 second apart from each other with 4:05 left on the clock in the third quarter, propelling the Catamounts to an 8-6 advantage.
- Haggerty scored on a free position opportunity with 2:56 remaining until the final frame, her second goal of the contest, earning the Catamounts a 9-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
- Macintosh secured a hat trick after opening scoring in the final frame of play with 11:21 on the clock, firing in her 27th goal of the season after corralling a pass from Olivia Worden, bringing UMBC back within two, seeing UVM maintain a 9-7 advantage.
- The Catamounts pounced back a little over five minutes later when Haggerty set up Lindsay Lefebvre in front of the net, picking the top right corner for her 14th goal of the season with 6:06 of regulation remaining, earning Vermont a 10-7 lead.
- The Catamounts tamed the Retrievers for the remainder of regulation, walking away with the 10-7 semifinal victory from Virtue Field, ultimately earning a trip to the America East Championship game for just the second time in program history.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Vermont will advance to its second America East Championship game in the last five season.
- The Catamounts have now won four straight games, the longest win streak since the opening four outings of the 2024 season.
- Doraz was named Player of the Game after recording four points on three goals and one assist while also corralling a game high eight draw controls. This marks Doraz's sixth hat trick of the season and ninth game scoring four or more points on the campaign.
- Haggerty scored two goals and notched one assist while recording a team high four shots on goal. Haggerty also tallied one ground ball.
- Erskine registered her second multi-goal game of the season, finding the back of the net twice in the semifinal contest against UMBC.
- Trauger tallied one goal, three shots on goal, and two ground balls.
- Lauren Lefebvre earned a tied game high two assists, marking her third game this season with multiple assists in the same contest.
- Sethi scored one goal to go along with a season high three draw controls.
- Lindsay Lefebvre recorded one goal, her fourth straight outing notching a goal.
- Ayla Shea made six total saves against UMBC.
- UVM outshot UMBC on goal 17-10.
- Vermont went a perfect 12-12 on clear attempts.
- The Catamounts secured 13 draw controls to UMBC's six.
- Vermont caused six turnovers to UMBC's five.
- With today's Win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to The Ronald McDonald House through the Cats Win, Community Win's initiative. Vermont Mutual has donated over $6 Million Dollars since launching their Charitable Giving Fund in 2014.
UP NEXT
Following the America East Semifinal win over UMBC, the top-seeded Catamounts will face the two-seed UAlbany in the America East Championship Game on Sunday (May 3) from Virtue Field. The Great Danes topped Bryant 12-11 Friday night in the second semifinal. The opening draw is set for 12 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Tickets are available at
go.uvm.edu/may3.
For news and updates about the Vermont women's lacrosse program, follow @UVMwlax on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
