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VERMONT FIELD HOCKEY WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont field hockey team returns to action with a busy weekend ahead, as the Catamounts travel to face America East rival Maine on Saturday (12 p.m.) and then return home to take on Columbia in non-conference action on Sunday (2 p.m.).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
MAINE: The Black Bears are 11-4 this season overall and 2-1 in America East play. Maine is coming off a 4-3 victory over Fairfield in its last time out and its only league loss this season came against Albany, 1-0. The Black Bears are third in the nation, averaging 4.4 goals per game this season as they have out-scored their opponents 66-27. Kelly Newton and Jocelyn Mitchell share the team lead in goals, with 16 each. Brittany Fleck has started all 15 games in goal and has posted a 1.81 goals against average and .740 save percentage. The Black Bears and Catamounts have split over the last two years, with Vermont earning a 2-1 victory in Orono in 2007 and Maine coming out on top 2-1 in Burlington last year.

COLUMBIA: The Lions are 6-6 this season after defeating Lehigh 3-1 on Wednesday, with a game at Dartmouth on Saturday still on tap before traveling to Burlington. Columbia is led offensively by Julia Garrison (4 goals/2 assists) and Christine Buszczak (3 goals/4 assists), who each have 10 points on the year. Christie O’Hara has started in goal in 11 of the 12 games, with a 2.42 goals against average and .735 save percentage. The Lions have had 21 different players earn a start this season and they are 2-4 on the road. Sunday will mark only the second meeting between Columbia and Vermont, as the Catamounts took the first match-up at home in 2007, 1-0.

LAST TIME OUT: Christina Patrick and Alysia Hough each scored to lead #18 Albany to a 2-0 victory over Vermont on Saturday afternoon. The Great Danes held a slim 1-0 lead for most of the contest until tacking on a late goal.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Sarah Becque recorded her team-high sixth and seventh defensive saves of the season against Albany in Vermont’s last time out. With seven defensive stops on the year, Becque leads the nation in the category.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Albany and Boston University sit atop the conference with matching 3-0 marks and have both clinched a spot in the America East Championship. The two will face each other on Saturday at BU in a game that should decide home field advantage for the tournament. Maine sits in sole possession of third place with a 2-1 mark in league play, while New Hampshire is fourth at 1-2. The Cats and Fairfield are both still looking for their first conference win.

MAKING THE SAVE: Senior Kristen Heavens turned aside a career-high 17 shots against Boston University in the Cats’ America East opener. Her previous best was 13, which also came against the Terriers in the America East Semifinals as a freshman in 2006. Heavens has made 10 or more saves in a game five times this year, and ranks sixth in the nation save percentage (.794) and seventh in saves per game (8.79).

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Vermont has another difficult schedule this season, with games against four teams that are ranked in the latest NFHCA Poll and sixt others that are receiving votes. The Cats have played Boston College (#10), Ohio State (#15), Massachusetts (#16) and Albany (#18). Providence, Boston University, Maine, New Hampshire, Dartmouth and Lock Haven all sit just outside the top 20.

RECORD BOOKS: With a goal against Central Michigan senior Megan Maynard moved into sole possession of 11th place in career goals (18) at Vermont and is now 12th in career points (45). Classmate Kristen Heavens has 27 career victories in goal and is only one win behind first place and tying Pat Donze ’82 for the Vermont record. Heavens career goals against average rank second all-time in team history, while with her ninth career shutout against UC Davis she moved into a tie for fourth.

FREE HITS: Vermont has won eight of its last 12 games against Ivy League opponents … The Cats final three games of the season will all take place at home, where they have scored seven of their 12 goals this year.

WHO’S NEXT: Following this weekend the Catamounts will wrap up the regular season next week with a pair of home games. Vermont hosts Fairfield on October 31 in the final America East regular season game of the year and then the Cats will take on Providence as part of “Senior Day” on November 1.

FOLLOW OR FRIEND THE CATAMOUNTS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER: The UVM Athletic Department has a Facebook page. Click here to become a friend of the department to keep up with all the happenings in Catamount Country. Fans can also follow the Catamounts via Twitter. The department has a general Twitter account @UVMAthletics and the field hockey team also has a Twitter account @UVM_Field_HKY. Follow @UVMAthletics for general news on the department and/or follow @UVM_Field_HKY for more in-depth coverage of the team, including in-game updates throughout the season.

CATAMOUNTS ALL-ACCESS: Visit the Catamounts All-Access page at UVMathletics.com for information on how to get results of your favorite Catamount teams minutes after the conclusion of the game via a text message on your cell phone via eScores. The feature is available to anyone with a cell phone, regardless of cell phone service provider. Also, stay up-to-date with the Catamounts. Sign up for the Vermont Field Hockey eNews, offered free of charge by the Athletic Communications Office. Receive all the latest news and notes, as well as complete game summaries for every contest via your personal e-mail account. Catamounts All-Access also includes links to UVM's other social networking sites like Flickr and YouTube, Vermont's television schedule, live stats, live audio streaming and wallpaper for your computer.

PHOTO STORE: Catamount faithful can purchase athletic pictures at www.UVMathletics.com via the Vermont Photo Store. Pictures make great gifts for holidays, home wall art, or office decorations. Powered by Replay Photos, the website will feature pictures of all 18 sports, including game action photos from the 2009-10 season.

GET YOUR GEAR: The UVM athletic department, in conjunction with TeamFanShop, has launched its first-ever merchandise and apparel store through the school's official athletic site at UVMathletics.com. The new online store includes hats, polo shirts, shorts, t-shirts, gifts and much more from several leading manufacturers.