Friday, September 12
Burlington, Vt.
2 PM
Michigan State University
at
Vermont
Field Hockey Heads East to Face Vermont, Merrimack
9/10/2025 2:26:00 PM | Field Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State field hockey hits the road for the second time in the 2025 season this weekend, traveling to Burlington, Vermont to face the Vermont Catamounts on Friday, September 12 at 2:00 p.m. Following Friday's contest against Vermont, MSU will stay in Burlington to take on the Merrimack Warriors on Saturday, September 13 at 2:00 p.m.
Friday afternoon's game against Vermont will be streamed live on AmericanEast.tv.
SERIES HISTORY
MSU leads the all-time series record against Vermont 2-0. The two schools last met in East Lansing on September 6, 2024, where the Spartans were victorious by a score of 3-1. Skylar Santucci, Jillian Bonczewski and Carmen Pucheta scored for MSU. This will mark the first time in series history that MSU travels to Vermont, as each of the two previous matchups were held in East Lansing.
Saturday's game against Merrimack will mark the first time in program history that the two schools face off on the field.
ABOUT VERMONT
Vermont is 2-2 on the season, coming off a 2-0 road trip last weekend against Boston University and Wagner. Vermont beat Boston University in overtime, 3-2, before defeating Wagner two days later in regulation, 3-1. The Catamounts started the season against two Top 25 opponents, resulting in losses to UMass and Rutgers by scores of 2-0. Michigan State marks the second Big Ten team Vermont has faced this season.
On the offensive side, Vermont is led by midfielders Alicia Battistelli and Sophia LeFranc. Battistelli is coming off a weekend where she scored two goals against Boston and recorded an assist against Wagner. LeFranc enters Friday's game following a two-assist performance against Boston, while recording another goal and assist against Wagner.
In goal for the Catamounts is sophomore goalkeeper Merle Vaandrager. Vaandrager started 13 of the 17 games in goal for the Catamounts last season, and has started in all four games this season, posting a season high with seven saves against Rutgers. Last season, Vaandrager made 56 saves (.789 save percentage) while allowing 16 goals (1.11 goals against average).
ABOUT MERRIMACK
The Merrimack Warriors are 0-3 to start the season, falling in their lone game last weekend to Providence (7-0). Defensively Merrimack is led by junior goalkeeper Isabelle Gardiner, who returns in net for the Warriors following a season in which she started all 17 games in goal. Gardiner made 218 saves (.715 save percentage), while allowing 87 goals last season (5.02 goals against average).
On offense the Warriors return sophomore forward Gianna Cioni. Cioni led the Warriors in goals scored (3) and points accounted for (6) during her freshman campaign. Cioni has started in 2 of 3 games played this season and is second on the team with shots taken (2) and shots on goal (2). Erin Cottam is also a returning starter for Merrimack, starting in all 17 games last season while recording six shots and over 700 minutes played.
PREVIOUSLY FOR THE SPARTANS
Last week the Spartans improved to 2-1, defeating Bellarmine on Friday, September 5 by a score of 2-1. Gracie Burns and Caroline Horace traded places on both Michigan State goals, as they each scored while assisting on each other's goal in the process. Friday's points were the first of Horace's collegiate career, while Burns increased her season point total to a team-high of five (2g, 1a).
UP NEXT
The Spartans return to the Mitten state next week, heading to Ann Arbor to face intrastate rival Michigan on Friday, September 19 at 6:00 p.m. in the B1G season opener. Following Friday's game against the Wolverines, MSU travels to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami (Ohio) on Sunday, September 21 at 1:00 p.m.
Friday afternoon's game against Vermont will be streamed live on AmericanEast.tv.
SERIES HISTORY
MSU leads the all-time series record against Vermont 2-0. The two schools last met in East Lansing on September 6, 2024, where the Spartans were victorious by a score of 3-1. Skylar Santucci, Jillian Bonczewski and Carmen Pucheta scored for MSU. This will mark the first time in series history that MSU travels to Vermont, as each of the two previous matchups were held in East Lansing.
Saturday's game against Merrimack will mark the first time in program history that the two schools face off on the field.
ABOUT VERMONT
Vermont is 2-2 on the season, coming off a 2-0 road trip last weekend against Boston University and Wagner. Vermont beat Boston University in overtime, 3-2, before defeating Wagner two days later in regulation, 3-1. The Catamounts started the season against two Top 25 opponents, resulting in losses to UMass and Rutgers by scores of 2-0. Michigan State marks the second Big Ten team Vermont has faced this season.
On the offensive side, Vermont is led by midfielders Alicia Battistelli and Sophia LeFranc. Battistelli is coming off a weekend where she scored two goals against Boston and recorded an assist against Wagner. LeFranc enters Friday's game following a two-assist performance against Boston, while recording another goal and assist against Wagner.
In goal for the Catamounts is sophomore goalkeeper Merle Vaandrager. Vaandrager started 13 of the 17 games in goal for the Catamounts last season, and has started in all four games this season, posting a season high with seven saves against Rutgers. Last season, Vaandrager made 56 saves (.789 save percentage) while allowing 16 goals (1.11 goals against average).
ABOUT MERRIMACK
The Merrimack Warriors are 0-3 to start the season, falling in their lone game last weekend to Providence (7-0). Defensively Merrimack is led by junior goalkeeper Isabelle Gardiner, who returns in net for the Warriors following a season in which she started all 17 games in goal. Gardiner made 218 saves (.715 save percentage), while allowing 87 goals last season (5.02 goals against average).
On offense the Warriors return sophomore forward Gianna Cioni. Cioni led the Warriors in goals scored (3) and points accounted for (6) during her freshman campaign. Cioni has started in 2 of 3 games played this season and is second on the team with shots taken (2) and shots on goal (2). Erin Cottam is also a returning starter for Merrimack, starting in all 17 games last season while recording six shots and over 700 minutes played.
PREVIOUSLY FOR THE SPARTANS
Last week the Spartans improved to 2-1, defeating Bellarmine on Friday, September 5 by a score of 2-1. Gracie Burns and Caroline Horace traded places on both Michigan State goals, as they each scored while assisting on each other's goal in the process. Friday's points were the first of Horace's collegiate career, while Burns increased her season point total to a team-high of five (2g, 1a).
UP NEXT
The Spartans return to the Mitten state next week, heading to Ann Arbor to face intrastate rival Michigan on Friday, September 19 at 6:00 p.m. in the B1G season opener. Following Friday's game against the Wolverines, MSU travels to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami (Ohio) on Sunday, September 21 at 1:00 p.m.
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