HOW IT HAPPENED The Catamounts opened the scoring and jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first nine minutes of the contest. Dani Paterno and Maris Large were the Vermont goal scorers early in the opening frame. Mercer responded with five unanswered goals to take a 6-2 lead. Eva Thorn recorded a hat trick in the first half before Ava Vasile snapped the Bears' five-goal streak. Vasile led the Cats' late first-half charge with a pair of goals in the final 6:30 of the frame. The rookie recorded her 19th goal of the season with four seconds left in the half to trail 7-5 at the break. Erin Kloostra and Paterno tied the game at 7-7 in the first seven minutes of the second half. The Bears and Catamounts then exchanged three goals each over the next 10 minutes. Mercer grabbed a 12-10 lead with 10:46 remaining, but Vermont responded with goals from Mackenzie Bolt and Riley Halloran. Halloran's fourth of the season tied the game at 12-12 with 9:14 left in regulation. Haily Rhatigan and Lily put the Bears back up by two for the final goals of the afternoon. Rhatigan's game-winner came with 8:06 remaining. Mercer held off UVM's final push after Morin's goal with 7:04 left. NOTES Vasile's hat trick came on five shots. The freshman also picked up one ground ball and captured four draw controls. Large, Bolt, and Paterno each scored twice for the Catamounts. Large also had a team-high five shots for UVM. Sophie McLaughlin recorded seven saves in net for Vermont. UP NEXT Vermont returns to action on Wednesday (Mar. 11) when it visits Kennesaw State. The game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start.