T.J. Gore’s dazzling overtime goal on Saturday electrified the crowd of 1,107 and kept Vermont unbeaten in America East play. On a pristine fall afternoon for Homecoming, the University of Vermont Catamounts defeated the Hartford Hawks 1-0 in the first overtime to send the crowd home pleased. “I’m happy with the win today. It felt good to pull through in OT, and we are headed in the right direction,” head coach Jesse Cormier said. UVM came out shaky to start the first half, which saw Hartford generate the majority of the chances. Vermont’s young back line was able to tighten up, and overcome the absence of senior captain Corey Bronner with solid play from sophomores Will Haywood, Connor Tobin, Jake McFadden and freshman Nick Mead. Junior goalkeeper Roger Scully did his part by keeping the Hawks from getting on the board, posting his sixth shutout of the season. Hartford’s defense was equal to the challenge set forth by the Cats, making it tough for UVM to get their explosive offense going. UVM did have a few quality chances in the first half, but was not able to capitalize on them. Sophomore Jordan Crasilneck pressured the Hartford defense into misplaying a ball and he was able to beat the keeper, but a heads up defender cleared the ball from danger to keep the game scoreless. In the middle of the first half, junior Danny Broughan moved into the box and fed Crasilneck, who volleyed the ball out of the air and over the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Matt Glaeser, but just over the bar. Towards the end of the half freshman Dominic Chapman sent a ball into junior Tyler Hasman who took a shot that was knocked away by the keeper, sending the game into halftime scoreless. Vermont held a 5-3 advantage in shots at the half, but Hartford was able to turn the tide in the second half when they outshot the Catamounts 5-2. The second half was again dominated by strong defense from both sides as both offenses were often bottled up. Vermont turned up the heat late in the second half when sophomore Lee Stephane Kouadio danced down the sidelines bringing the crowd back to life with one of his signature moves to beat a defender, but he could not keep Hartford from clearing the ball. With a minute left in regulation, the Catamounts produced their best chance in the half off of a free kick. The ball was sent in, headed into the air, but an incidental handball spoiled Vermont’s chance. Vermont kept up the pressure, outshooting Hartford 5-1 in the first overtime, producing quality chances. The Catamounts broke through in the 99th minute off of a corner kick when junior Justin Geibel sent the ball into the box to Connor Tobin, who chipped the ball over to freshman T.J. Gore who buried the ball in the upper left corner of the net. “T.J. has learned so much and he is really developing into a threat in the conference,” Cormier said. “We are finally hitting our stride when we need it, and our work is paying off,” Gore said after his heroic goal. Gore’s golden goal was his third of the year and lifted Vermont to a 7-4-3 overall record and 4-0-1 in America East. The loss drops Hartford to 3-5-4 (1-3-0).