BURLINGTON – With high school soccer programs around the state readying to open up official practices in less than two weeks, the reigning NCAA Champion Catamounts and Vermont Green FC semiprofessional team has interest in the sport at an all-time high.
The Twin State Lions Cup clash featuring neighboring states top senior soccer players has always been a late summer reminder of high school soccer season being right around the corner. Although New Hampshire may have put a damper on the 50th edition of the boys and girls Lions Cup matches with a clean sweep in Hanover over the weekend, the Vermont Green’s recent title run and UVM’s first ever national title defense has the sport buzzing as the dog days of summer approach.
Soccer interest in Vermont usually fades in late October with the crowning of high school state champions across the state but extended well into the holiday season last year with the UVM men’s soccer team’s historic run to the program’s first ever NCAA Division I National Championship. The Catamounts stunned #13 Marshall in sudden-death overtime in Cary, NC to cap off an improbable championship run through the College Cup last December, earning UVM its first national title in a team sport in school history. It truly was a Cinderella story for the Catamounts as their championship journey covered over 7,000 miles of travel, knocking off #7 Hofstra, #2 Pitt, and #3 Denver along the way. They became the first school from the America East to capture a national championship and the first unseeded team to lift the College Cup in nearly two decades. The Catamounts officially begin their title defense at Virtue Field in Burlington against Sacred Heart on August 21.
If that wasn’t enough to light the fire of soccer enthusiasts new and old around the state, enter Vermont Green FC and their own historic run to a first ever USL2 National Championship. The Green outlasted Alabama’s Dothan United in penalty kicks 4-2 Sunday night at Virtue Field to advance to the championship match. UVM’s own Niklas Herceg continued his elite play in net for the Green, saving two penalty kicks in the shootout, earning him Man of the Match honors. The 6-foot-6 German also earned NCAA Tournament Defensive Most Outstanding Player honors for the Catamounts in the College Cup Final eight months ago. In just their fourth season in existence, the Green have become a hot ticket this summer, becoming a weekly sellout in Burlington throughout their 16 home games during the regular season before having to having to add 200 plus seats to meet the demand during their current championship run. High level soccer from the Green is strictly a bonus for a fan friendly experience at Virtue that includes a European style section led by The Green Mountain Boys, local food trucks and sponsors, and free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
Herceg and the Green improved to 15-0-3 on the season and will host Seattle’s Ballard FC on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the right to raise the USL2 Men’s National Championship trophy.
