The field hockey team suffered a 1-0 home loss against the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders.

The Tuesday afternoon loss took the team to a 3-4 record for the season.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match today,” head coach Kate Pfeifer said.

The only goal of the game was scored within the first six minutes by Holy Cross forward Maureen Connolly. In total, Holy Cross had 13 shots, six on goal, showing the strength of UVM’s defense.

Junior forwards Landon Warren and Jackie Gillen gave Holy Cross’s defense a tough fight, each putting up three shots.

Despite a slow first half, the Cats managed to keep Holy Cross away from the goal for the rest of the game.

“I think we came out a bit hesitant and a bit soft in the first half,” Pfeifer said.

After a 10-minute break for halftime, the Catamounts came out faster and stronger. They pulled out 14 shots compared to  their four shots in the first period.

With more shots but no goals scored by either team, Pfeifer called for a quick timeout with 12 minutes left in the second half.

“We talked about making sure that we stuck to the way we play, which is a possessive game, and one that is sort of relentless defending until we get possession,” Pfeifer said.

In the last five minutes of the game, Pfeifer pulled out senior goalkeeper Lena Benwood to add an extra player on the field. This gave the Catamounts an advantage of an even stronger offense, but they ran out of time.

It’s really important that we play to win, Pfeifer said.

Field hockey will travel to New Hampshire for their America East opener Sept. 29 before hosting No. 20 ranked University at Albany Oct. 1.