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| Nov 24 | Men's Basketball | at Providence |  |
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7:00pm | |
| Nov 24 | Men's Hockey | #9 Massachusetts + | |
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7:05pm | |
| Nov 25 | Women's Hockey | at Northeastern + | 3:00pm | ||||
| Nov 25 | Women's Basketball | DARTMOUTH | 7:00pm | ||||
| Nov 27 | Men's Basketball | at Drexel (Legends Classic) | |
4:30pm | |||
| Nov 27 | Men's Hockey | at Northeastern + | 7:00pm | ||||
| Nov 28 | Men's Basketball | at Cornell (Legends Classic at Drexel) | |
2:00pm |
Season Complete
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Vermont is coming off of a 9-9 season in 2008, which included a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents. The Catamounts have another tough schedule on tap for this season, but will play 10 home games including the fourth annual Sheraton Catamount Classic on September 12-13.
Catamount head coach Nicki Houghton breaks down the 2009 season in a Q&A:
Q: What are the team goals heading into this year?
A: The main goal is to make it back to the America East Tournament this season and that was something that the team begin to set out for back in November. A couple factors will be key to get back to the tournament: individual preparation and accountability, building and maintaining connections among one another both on and off the field, playing 'simple' hockey, be an offensive threat, and have fun. We are a young team this year and we just need to be focused on keeping it simple and try to out-hustle our opponents.
Q: The team graduated a solid senior class last year, a group that made a combined 306 career starts. Who do you see stepping up this year and filling in the gaps?
A: In our backfield Jenna Horowski will provide leadership through experience as a two-year starter and she is comfortable carrying the ball and in building it out of the backfield. Sarah Becque has great vision and is able to read the open passing lanes early and she will keep growing defensively. She has a lot of strength behind the ball and her confidence will continue to grow. Sarah Meacham is a three-year starter who has great speed and the ability to intercept. Over the last three years her counter attacks have led to numerous goals and scoring opportunities. Meacham is a great defender and will give us experience on our defensive penalty corner unit. Alana Izzo is a natural left side defender and is comfortable in carrying the ball. She is good at connecting with her teammates and reads the play well. Freshman Emily Stevens will look to gain game experience throughout the season.
In our midfield Mackenzie Williams has great vision and a solid tactical understanding of the game. She has great technical skills and is successful in distributing in the midfield. Holly Davis is a well-rounded player, who has a good small game and good vision. Emily Bastiaanse is a great attacking midfielder and has the ability to score. Freshman Callie Bellimer is comfortable on the left side and anticipates well, as we are looking forward to her gaining game experience this season. Brittanie Booker worked really hard during the off-season, as she is a tough athlete. Her counter attacks and ability to use that momentum just gets everyone going around her and makes her a fun player to watch.
For our forwards, Megan Maynard brings a wealth of experience and has great vision. She has the ability to put the ball in the back of the net and has great tactical abilities which makes it exciting to have her back. Chelsea Stevenson is a tremendous athlete. We want to try and help her take her athleticism and speed to a higher level of field hockey execution. Katie Smith has a great first touch on the ball and solid experience in a variety of positions. We are looking to capitalize on that positive first touch in our forward line this year. Allison Barnaby is fast and has an exciting first touch on the ball. We hope to utilize her experience, athleticism and good natural instinct this season. Joanna Berger worked very hard during the off-season and has the ability to be an incredible goal scorer, as she has great strength with the ball. Lauren Goracy is a skilled player with goal-scoring ability. As she gains more experience she will be able to raise her game. We are excited to add freshmen Kendall Cooper and Taylor Silvestro to our forward line, as both bring vision and dynamic abilities.
In goal Kristen heavens is a leader and one of the hardest working players on this team. She is just playing with a senior confidence level and her technical abilities in reading the play are at a very high level right now. Kristen and Brooke Crane are learning daily from each other and our coaching staff, competing for game time and we are excited to have two keepers who are game ready. Brooke has worked really hard in the off-season and has taken her game skills to a new level.
Q: What are the strengths of the incoming class?
A: Our first year class is a diverse and versatile group of athletes. They will all push to help and earn more game experience.
Q: What are some of the positives that you saw during the spring season?
A: The team took it up a few notches in the weight room, trying to beat previous testing standards, and because of that our individual strength and agility development has really improved. The strength and speed development should be a big factor. The team also has incorporated the new 'self-start rule' in their game plan.
Q: You have 10 home games this season at Moulton Winder Field, where the team has won 16 of its last 19 contests heading into the year. How much of an advantage do you feel it is playing at home?
A: It is great to play on our home field. We have a great fan base here in Burlington between family and friends. Playing home games allows the team to be fresher both mentally and physically.
Q: For the fourth straight season you will host the Sheraton Catamount Classic, having won two of the first three. Talk about the tournament field this year?
A: We are looking forward to hosting UNH, UPenn and UC Davis this year, the competition should be exciting. It is nice to be able to bring three Division 1 teams to our campus for an exciting weekend of hockey. It is also a great opportunity for local high school, middle school and youth teams to come watch, as it is just a fun weekend.
Q: You consistently play a very competitive schedule year in and year out. This year the team plays nine squads that recorded 10 or more wins last season. How well do you feel this prepares the team especially when it comes to conference play?
A: We open with #14 Boston College and our coaching staff believes we should challenge ourselves at the highest level. This allows us to learn in every game and to continue to develop our overall program's competitive ability. We will be able to see exactly where we need to tighten up and what adjustments need to be made in the first few games of the year. The America East is a very successful field hockey conference and our ability to prepare for league games with similar competition in our non-conference schedule is very helpful.
Q: Kristen Heavens returns for her senior season second all-time at Vermont in both wins (26) and goals against average (1.78). With a young team, how important is it to have so much experience in goal?
A: Leadership and experience with your goalkeepers is always critical. Kristen has had an outstanding summer of preparation, training at the New England High Performance Training Center (with former teammate Jen Angers) which allowed her some diverse coaching as well as a very high level of game play. Her experience and leadership will be critical in helping the young defense to settle down at times and keep their play focused without taking unnecessary risks.
Last modified September 01 2009 04:21 PM
