Vermont Win America East Title in Shootout After Albany Fightback
Vermont don’t do things the easy way. They never have, not this season.
The Catamounts won the America East championship on Friday, beating UAlbany 6-5 in a shootout after a final that had just about everything. They led 2-0 going into the fourth quarter, watched Albany score twice late to force overtime, and then held their nerve when it came down to one-on-ones. Second title in three years, and this one came the hard way.
It fits the way they got here. Vermont played the whole tournament on the road, three games away from home, as the underdogs in a bracket that wasn’t supposed to go their way. They beat New Hampshire 2-0 in the quarterfinals. Then they went 2-0 down to top-seeded UMass Lowell in the semifinals and scored three unanswered goals to win 3-2, Consu de Castro finishing the comeback in the 46th minute.
The final was more of the same. Two goals up, cruising, and then Albany dragged it back. That’s the bit that will stick with them, in a good way. Teams that keep finding a way through games like that don’t fluke a title.
Forward Addie DelOrefice was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and she earned it across the three games, not just the final.
What it means for Wednesday
The reward is a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and there’s no gentle introduction. Vermont travel to Northwestern’s Lakeside Field in Evanston to face Saint Joseph’s in the opening round on Wednesday 11 November at 3pm ET, 1am PKT on Thursday. The Hawks have just won their sixth straight Atlantic 10 title, beating Richmond in a shootout, so neither side will be short of confidence.
The winner goes straight into a first-round tie against the hosts on Friday, top-seeded Northwestern, the defending national champions. That’s the scale of the task. But Vermont have already beaten the odds three times in eight days to get here, and a side that wins a conference title on the road, in a shootout, after losing a two-goal lead, isn’t going to be overawed by much.
For our money, the Saint Joseph’s game is a coin flip. Vermont’s run has been built on comebacks and nerve, and those travel well. If they get through that one, Friday against Northwestern is a free hit. Nobody expects them to win it, which is exactly when Vermont tend to be at their most dangerous.
