UVM men’s and women’s soccer teams each scored a goal in their respective contests on Thursday but only the men came away victorious in a busy evening on the pitch for the Catamounts. 

The women’s team took an early lead in their semifinal game against Stony Brook University at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, but they eventually fell to the top-seeded Seawolves by a score of 3-1. 

The men’s team held on to an early 1-0 advantage to beat the New Jersey Institute of Technology in a game hosted by the University of New Hampshire. The team will advance to the America East Championship final. 

The women’s only score of the evening came just 52 seconds after the opening whistle when sophomore midfielder Frances O’Donnell’s scored her first goal of the season to put the Catamounts ahead 1-0 courtesy of an assist from junior forward Cricket Basa. 

UVM junior goalkeeper Lydia Kessel had a strong night in the net, recording 17 saves in the game, tied for the third most by a Division I goalkeeper this season.

Her shutout gave way, however, in the second half when the Seawolves scored twice in a span of just 2:22, the latter goal finding net after consecutive close-range saves by Kessel. 

Stony Brook put the game out of the Catamounts reach when junior forward Tatum Kauka

netted her first goal of the season with less than three minutes left to play in regulation. The score put the Seawolves up 3-1 for good.

As the women’s match was coming to an end in Lowell, the men were heading into halftime in Durham with a 1-0 lead over the Highlanders of NJIT.

The UVM men did not score as early as the women’s team, but it only took seven minutes for junior midfielder Alex Nagy to score, assisted by junior defenseman Garrett Lillie. 

Strong goaltending from both keepers resulted in a scoreless second half, proving Nagy’s early score to be the game’s only goal. 

Catamount senior goalkeeper Nate Silviera recorded his fourth shutout in the six games played this season, allowing just three goals in all. 

For the women, the unusually short season comes to a close with a record of 1-4-1. The men’s team will advance to the America East Championship final to face tournament hosts and top-seed UNH today, April 17. 

The Catamounts’ two prior meetings with the Wildcats this season, a tie and a loss, are the only games that have not resulted in victories for the UVM men. UNH is also responsible for two of the three goals allowed by goalkeeper Silviera this season.