(Photo Courtesy of Vermont Athletics)

For the second time in as many seasons, the Vermont Catamounts are America East Champions and heading to the NCAA Tournament.

Vermont defeated UMBC 13-11 on Saturday in Burlington to keep that title in house.

Thomas McConvey led the way with five goals for the Catamounts while David Closterman and Brock Haley each had one goal and two assists. On the back end, Ryan Cornell made 12 saves and Jackson Canfield caused three turnovers and grabbed two ground balls.

The Catamounts’ win marks their ninth consecutive victory and keeps them unbeaten against conference opponents in the 2022 season. However, Saturday’s victory was nothing like their 12-3 win over the Retrievers.

Josh Tang bookended a second-quarter, four-goal UMBC run to push them ahead 6-3 with 2:51 remaining in the first half. While the Catamounts were able to punch back with a three-goal run of their own, a Brett Baucia score with 11 ticks left in the second quarter kept the Retrievers ahead, 7-6, heading into the break.

Anchored, in part, by a 6-for-5 mark from Tommy Burke in the frame, Vermont got started hot in the third quarter with four consecutive scores to pull themselves back in front 10-7. That run included a transition score with LSM Nick Alviti feeding Colin Sharkey and saw Charlie Pope score each of the final two scores during the run.

UMBC came within one twice during the final 15:55 of the contest, but they were never able to tie things back up again or take the lead. A pair of fourth-quarter goals from Thomas McConvey and Michael McCormack helped seal the deal and earn the victory for the Catamounts.