2023 America East Women’s Soccer Quarterfinal: No. 6 Vermont vs. No. 3 UNH – Watch Live on ESPN+

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WOMEN’S SOCCER NOTEBOOK

No. 6 Vermont will travel to Durham, New Hampshire and take on No. 3 UNH on Monday (Oct. 30) night in the 2023 America East Quarterfinals. The Catamounts finished the regular season at 9-6-1 overall and 3-4-1 in America East play while the Wildcats finished 6-4-5 overall and 3-1-4 in conference play. The matchup is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

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STELLAR SEASON FROM THE CATS

Vermont’s 2023 overall wins were a five-game improvement from the 2022 season and their conference victories were a three-win improvement from a season ago. The Catamounts scored the second most goals in conference (31), were second in scoring margin (0.69), assists (23) and total points (85). Their goals scored were tied for 78th in the nation and their total points were tied for 92nd in the country.

STRONG INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

Kate Bossert led the Catamounts in America East finishing third in total shots (43), while finishing second in goals (10), game-winning goals (3) and points (22). Bailey Ayer finished tied for second in the conference in assists (5), tied for fifth in goals (5) and tied for third in total points with 15. Lauren DeGroot was 19th in America East in goals with three while also placing 13th in total points with eight. Bossert was tied for 36th in the country in goals, tied for 63rd in game-winning goals and tied for 66th in total points in the nation.

QUARTERFINAL HISTORY FOR THE CATAMOUNTS

This will be the Catamounts tenth appearance in the America East Quarterfinals. Vermont is 2-4-3 in their previous nine games with five of those matchups ending in double overtime or penalty kicks. In those nine games the Catamounts have been outscored 9-6. This will be Vermont’s third quarterfinal experience as the No. 6 seed having gone 1-1-0 in the previous two. In 2006,Vermont fell at Maine 2-0 as the sixth seed. However, the last time UVM was the sixth seed, in 2017, they pulled off two straight victories before falling 2-1 to Stony Brook in the America East Championship Game.

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE

The Wildcats earned a postseason berth as the No. 3 seed after tying Maine on the road on Oct. 27, 0-0. This season the Wildcats outscored their opponents 16-11 in the regular season. Junior Meghan Guarente led the team in goals with five, assists with four and total points with 14. Her five goals were fifth in the conference and her four assists was tied for sixth, while her points were tied for fourth in the America East. Sophomore Abbi Maier finished second on the team with seven points and three goals while also adding an assist. Redshirt sophomore Sally Rainey has been a staple between the pipes for the Wildcats starting and playing 15 games this season finishing with 62 saves, a 0.74 goals against average, an .849 save percentage and an America East high eight shutouts. Her save percentage and goals against average were both second among America East goalkeepers.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the 48th matchup between the Wildcats and the Catamounts with New Hampshire holding a 23-18-6 advantage in the series. Both teams longest winning streak all-time is six games with Vermont having won the first six contests from 1977-1984 and New Hampshire claiming six in a row from 2005-2010. Over the past six matchups the Catamounts are 2-3-1 claiming two victories at home in the 2021 season including a 1-0 victory in the America East Championship game at Virtue Field. Their last matchup earlier this season at Virtue Field ended in a 1-1 tie. Ayer scored for the Catamounts in that game while Maier added a late equalizer for the Wildcats.

This will be the third matchup in the America East postseason between UVM and UNH. In the 2005 quarterfinals, UNH defeated the Catamounts 1-0 in double overtime on the campus of Boston University. In the 2021 America East Championship game, Vermont earned the 1-0 victory over New Hampshire at Virtue Field to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

SCOUTING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRACKET

In the other half of the America East bracket No. 5 NJIT will face No. 4 UMass Lowell in the other quarterfinal. The UMass Lowell and NJIT showdown is set for 6 p.m. on Monday Oct. 30 on ESPN+. No. 1 Binghamton awaits the winner of the Highlanders and River Hawks matchup in the semifinals, while No. 2 Maine will host the winner of No. 6 UVM and No. 3 UNH in the other semifinal. Both semifinals are scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPN+ on Thursday, Nov. 2 with the matchup at Binghamton scheduled for 6 p.m. and the contest at Maine scheduled for 6 p.m.

The winner of the America East Championship will receive the league’s automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Division I women’s soccer tournament field will be unveiled on Monday, November 6 in a broadcast live on NCAA.com.