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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 + | |
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3:00pm | ||
| Nov 25 | Women's Basketball | DARTMOUTH | |
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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 |
Feb. 26 at Penn State
6 p.m. - State College, Pa.
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Q&A with Vermont Women's Lacrosse Head Coach Jen Johnson
Vermont is coming off one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2008. The Catamounts returned to the America East Women's Lacrosse Championship for the first time since 2003. UVM finished the year with an 8-9 record, the most regular season victories since 1993, and went 5-1 in America East, setting new school marks for most league wins and the highest finish in the conference standings (2nd).
In 2009, the Catamounts return 92 percent of their scoring and their top five points leaders from a year ago, including midfielder Kristen Millar, who was named to the IWLCA Northeast Regional All-America Team for the third straight year and also garnered a spot on the America East All-Conference First Team last season. Also returning to the mix is midfielder Megan MacDonald. She became the first Catamount to win America East Rookie of the Year honors in 2008 and Johnson was the first women's lacrosse coach at Vermont to earn America East Coach of the Year. This year Johnson participated in a Q&A session for the season outlook.
Q: Last year Vermont had one of its most successful seasons in the program's history. What did the current players and coaching staff take from that experience?
JJ: The current players and coaching staff learned a lot from last season's success. We had a very skilled team last year, but I think that our team chemistry and how well we played together was the key to our success.
Last season we worked hard on an off the field. Our fitness was great in-season, which helped us persevere through our overtime games. We also played with a lot of heart and drive, playing every game as if we were the underdog and had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We are hoping that last season's success will help us a build a foundation for success this season.
Q: What are your general thoughts on how you see America East shaping up this year?
JJ: I think that this will be the most competitive season yet for the America East Conference. Each year the conference gets stronger. The new scheduling requirements have made the league's non-conference schedules more competitive, which has contributed to success. I predict Boston U and UNH will be among the top teams in the conference, but many other teams will be nipping at their heels. Every conference game will be a battle this spring, which should provide for a very exciting season.
Q: What do you anticipate will be the biggest strengths for Vermont this year?
JJ: I believe we will have the most talented team that Vermont has ever had this season. We brought in perhaps our most talented freshmen class whom we hope will add skill and depth to the returning players. We are fitter, faster and more skilled than last year. The key to our success this season will be leadership and our team meshing into a cohesive group. With nine freshmen and two transfers, we are integrating 11 new players with 17 veterans. Success will be determined by whether we can put it all together and play as a unit.
Q: Based on last season's performance, what areas do you hope to improve upon the most in 2009?
JJ: Playing with confidence and learning how to win each game was our shortcoming at times last year. We hope that our returning players from last year will pass along the knowledge of success they gained to this new team. We are a building program, learning how to win and win consistently. This year we have implemented more team building and sports psychology to help in this area as we try to evolve into a consistent force to be reckoned with.
Q: Vermont returns its top five scorers from a year ago. Offensively what can people expect from the Catamounts this season?
JJ: Our offense is going to be even stronger this season. We return our top scorers and have added some new attackers to the team. Last season we were more of a 1v1 challenging team and this season expect to see lots of assisted goals as well as 1v1 drives. We will be more creative and will have better vision for open players. We have more experience combined with lots of crafty newcomers who will help us diversity our offense.
Q: Vermont graduated the only goalkeeper it had for the last four years in Meaghan Hanley. What are your expectations for newcomers Olivia Hatfield and Laura Barber in the UVM goal?
JJ: We have high expectations for our two new freshmen goalkeepers. They are both very skilled and eager to learn. I am confident that both can step into the cage and get the job done. They both possess different strengths which will allow us to strategize more in games. Our goalkeeping will standout among the best in our conference this season.
Q: Which newcomers do expect to make an immediate impact on the team this year?
JJ: What is exciting about our freshmen class this season is that all of them could make an impact. This class possesses a ton of talent and each of them is working on fine tuning their individual skills and getting the experience and confidence they need to step onto the field and contribute this season.
Q: What are three goals that you have put in place for the team this season?
JJ: Our first goal is to become a more cohesive group both on and off the field. With many new players we need to get to know each other so that we know how to work together on the field. We have a lot of individual skill but we need to put it all together. Second is accountability. We have encouraged our young team to take initiative to train harder and demand excellence of themselves each and every practice. To be a better team this season we have to demand more of ourselves and step outside our comfort zones to push harder. Lastly, we want to remain competitive in our conference this season and to improve upon our record from last year.
Q: Who among the returning players may step up and surprise people this year?
JJ: We are hoping that many of our veterans step up their game this season, especially in areas of leadership. I expect to see co-captain Sara Buxton help lead the attack. I see Kristen Millar continuing to impact our scoring and draw controls. Meg MacDonald will be a strong two-way player for us again. Jessa Merrill will provide needed leadership and experience to a young defensive group. Kaitlyn Fuller emerged as a standout attacker in the fall and we predict her to be among our leading scorers this spring. Meg Johnson has developed into a steady defender for us and we see her stepping into the lineup and adding needed experience.
Q: Kristen Millar enters her senior year owning nearly every mark in the UVM record book and is closing in on an NCAA Division I record. Talk about the impact she has had on the program?
JJ: Kristen has impacted our program in many ways. She is a modest, hard working player who successfully fulfills any role that is asked of her. I believe that great players are able to adapt their role to what is needed of them, while still greatly contributing to the overall success of the team and she has done this time and again for our team. If we need her to score, she scores. If we need the ball back or her to win a draw control, she does it. She is a natural leader by example and gives 100 percent all the time. She has been a great role model for our team and a mentor to many. She will have another standout season this year and be an integral part of our team success. She has worked hard in her four years here at UVM, both on and off the field, and will be sorely missed when she graduates.
Q: Megan MacDonald, the America East Rookie of the Year last season, returns to the team. How do expect her to improve this season?
JJ: Meg had a standout season last year as a freshman and we expect her to have an even better year in 2009. While Meg was a very good player last year, she still was feeling things out at times as most freshman do. This fall she played with more confidence and assertiveness and is emerging into a great leader as well. She was voted a team co-captain as a sophomore, which speaks volumes of how her teammates view and respect her.
Q: Vermont posted a record of 5-2 on its home field - Moulton Winder Field - last season, how does the turf facility provide an advantage for the team?
A: Moulton Winder Field has been a very important part of our success. It's a great facility and having the benefit of training outside during the winter months gives us an edge over other teams from the south that aren't used to playing in some of the weather conditions we experience. Having a facility to call our home field gives our players a feeling of pride, which is an important step as we try to grow our program into national prominence.
Q: Talk about the non-conference schedule you've put together for this season and how does it help the team prepare for the America East slate?
JJ: The new non-conference scheduling standards within America East demand that we schedule more nationally ranked teams. Playing competitive non-conference opponents has helped us prepare for tough conference games at the end of our season. Playing at Duke early last season was a great learning experience for us. Although it was a tough loss, we learned what it is going to take to compete with the best teams. We grew from this experience and lost a double overtime game versus nationally ranked Oregon last season and lost a two-goal game to nationally ranked Stanford as well. This gave our team the confidence to realize that we can compete with top teams. Our goal this season is to now take the next step and secure wins over some of these nationally ranked teams.
Last modified January 28 2009 02:06 PM
