CARY, N.C. – Vermont (15-2-6) has qualified for the National Championship Game for the first time in program history and will face 13th-seeded Marshall (15-1-7) on Monday night at 8 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North ). Carolina. The action will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and ESPN+, with Dalen Cuff, Devon Keer and Marion Crowder.

Tickets for Monday’s competition are still available at go.uvm.edu/cc24. The UVM Alumni Association invites fans to a pregame tailgate in the parking lot from Lot D beginning at 5 p.m.

RELATED LINKS
Buy tickets
CatamounTV Preview: Coach Dow | Bazini | Simeon
Photos: Sunday training
Watch Live – ESPN+
Live statistics
NCAA tournament bracket

Check out the party at NECTAR’S

The Vermont Athletic Department will host a watch party at Nectar’s Restaurant in downtown Burlington (188 Main St.). Doors open at 7 p.m. Complimentary food such as quesadillas, French fries, gravy fries, flatbreads and chicken tenders will be served. Green and gold beads, tattoos and stickers will also be available so you can show off your Catamount pride on Friday night.

HISTORIC THREE-YEAR RUN

• The Catamounts are the first America East team to ever play in a national title game in a team sport.
• Vermont has won nine NCAA Tournament games in the last three years, the most of any program in the NCAA.
• Five of these victories were achieved away from home, four of them against seeded teams.
• No other team in the NCAA has had three more road wins in the NCAA Tournament in the last three years.

In the second half, the CATAMOUNT period takes place in the NCAAs

• In the last three seasons of the NCAA Tournament, the Catamounts have outscored their opponents 17-6 in the second half.
• In their five NCAA games this season, they have outscored teams 8-2 in the second half.
• During the Catamounts’ three-year run, they are undefeated in the NCAA at 3-0-1 in overtime.

NEVER TRAIL

• Marshall is the only team in the NCAA Tournament this season that hasn’t trailed a single second of game action.
• In the semifinals, Vermont trailed for the first time in the tournament after the Pioneers’ lead goal. Overall, UVM was 14:09 minutes behind.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• UVM’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament is the 14th in program history.
• The Catamounts’ record is 13-12-3, with nine of those wins coming under head coaching Rob Dow.
• With the Catamounts’ fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth as a head coach Rob Dow joins Paul Reinhardt (1975, ’77, ’78, 1981) as the second coach in program history to lead UVM to the NCAAs four times.
• The Catamounts are the first Vermont athletic program to make four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

RARE COMPANY

• Vermont becomes the third team in school history to reach the Final Four/College Cup.
• The men’s ice hockey team is the only other team to appear in the Final Four (1996 and 2009).
• The men’s soccer team is the first UVM team to play for a national title in a team sport.
• Vermont’s ski program has won six national championships, most recently in 2012 under current ski director Bill Reichelt.

HERCEG SHINE AS A STARTER

• First-year goalkeeper Niklas Herceg has the best save percentage in the NCAA at .855.
• He made a career-high seven saves in Vermont’s 1-0 overtime win at San Diego in the NCAA third round.
• In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, he kept three clean sheets and made 22 saves.
• Enters the College Cup with a record of 11-1-2, a GAA of 0.62 (9 goals allowed) and six shutouts in 14 games started.
• Allowed two goals in UVM’s debut Oct. 1 in a 2-2 tie with UMass, but allowed one goal or fewer in the other 14 games.
• He made five saves in the Catamounts semifinal against #3 Denver. He also stopped a penalty and forced another wide of the goal.

Cats just keep rolling

• Since 2021, the Catamounts are 21-0-0 when scoring three or more goals.
• Vermont’s current winning percentage of .783 is fourth best in the NCAA. Their national title opponent Marshall is second best at .804.
• The Catamounts’ offense and depth have proven themselves time and time again this season.
• UVM has scored 19 goals in the 76th minute or later and 15 goals in the 83rd minute or later this year.
• They also scored twelve goals in the last seven minutes of regular time.
• The Catamounts are +28 in goal difference this season, which puts them first in the America East and fifth-best in the NCAA. Marshall is ranked seventh in the country at +27.

BEAT THE BEST

• Vermont is just the third team in the last decade to defeat two top-four seeds in one tournament run, having defeated No. 2 Pitt and No. 3 Denver.
• In 2015, No. 8 Stanford beat No. 1 Wake Forest (2-1) in the quarterfinals, tied No. 4 Akron (0-0) in the semifinals and defeated No. 2 Clemson (4-0) in the championship.
• In 2021, Clemson faced No. 1 Oregon State (1-1) in the quarterfinals, No. 4 Notre Dame (1-1) in the semifinals and defeated No. 2 Washington 2-0 in the championship.

UNSEEDED AND IN SEMIS

• Vermont is aiming to become the first unseeded program since Akron in 2018 to reach the championship game with a full tournament field.
• Marshall was unseeded when it won the 2020 championship in a 36-team tournament.
• UC Santa Barbara is the last unseeded team to win the national championship in a non-COVID tournament, securing the title in 2006.

BAZINI ALWAYS COME THROUGH

• On Friday, Bazini was named a Third Team All-American. He is the eighth Catamount in program history to receive this recognition.
• Yaniv Bazini has now scored in five consecutive NCAA Tournament games; he has six goals in the tournament.
• He is the first player to accomplish this feat since Akron’s Marcel Zajac scored in five consecutive games in 2019. He finished the game with a total of six goals as Akron lost in the championship.
• Bazini is the program’s all-time leader in NCAA Tournament goals with 10 points and is also the program’s all-time leader in NCAA Tournament goals with 21 points.
• Bazini has totaled 31 goals and nine assists in three seasons with the Catamounts. His 71 career points rank fifth in program history.

CATAMOUNT’S COMPLETE LEAGUE DOUBLE

• This is the second team (1989) in program history to win a share of the regular season and tournament championship titles.
• UVM secured a share of the regular season title and a crucial berth in the America East semifinals with a dramatic header in the 88th minute Mike Bleeker played to a 1-1 draw at home against Binghamton. It was the first regular season title for Vermont since 2019.
• Vermont also captured its seventh America East Tournament title in dramatic fashion on November 17th.
• Maximilian Kissel scored in the 86th minute to tie Bryant 1-1 and win the title in front of a sellout home crowd of 2,400 fans.
• Four Catamounts were named to the All-Championship Team: Herceg, Bazini, Adrian Schulze SolanoAnd Zach Barrett. The “Most Outstanding Player” award was presented Zach Barrett.
• Vermont Karl Daly was named winner of America East’s Elite 18 award for having the highest GPA of any player in the league’s championship. The junior business major has a GPA of 3.86.

CATAMOUNT CHAMPIONSHIP COUNTRY

• As of 2021, all four teams playing at Virtue Field in Vermont have won an America East Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament: Men’s Soccer (2021, 2024), Women’s Soccer (2021), Men’s Lacrosse (2021, 2022 ) and Women’s Lacrosse (2022). ).

KISSEL SUPER SUB

• Maximilian Kissel has played in all 23 games this season, starting four of them (including at Pitt in the quarterfinals).
• He is second on the team with 22 points, 10 goals and 2 assists.
• His five game-winning goals this season are first on the team and fourth in the NCAA.
• His 10 goals are the second most in the America East (Bazini – 13) and 29th in the NCAA. Last year, the University of Bridgeport led NCAA Division II with 23 goals in 20 games.

BARRETT CATAMAUNT’S NCAA BACKLINE

• Graduate defense attorney Zach Barrett is the all-time leader in program history with 1,225 minutes played in the NCAA Tournament, including 13 games.
• No other player in program history has played more than 970 minutes in the NCAAs.

SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE

• The Catamounts lead all teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament with 11 goals scored.
• Vermont and Marshall have each conceded just 18 goals this season.

A COUPLE OF ALL AMERICANS LEAD THE HERD

• Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos and Taimu Okiyoshi were named All-Americans on Friday. Rodrigues dos Santos was named a first-team All-American and Okiyoshi was named a second-team All-American.
• dos Santos recorded seven goal contributions during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Brazilian striker is third in the country with 35 points and fourth with 15 goals this season.
• Okiyoshi is the only player on the roster to start in all 23 games, playing 2,017 minutes and being named to the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team selection.

IMPORTANT AWARDS FOR THE CATAMOUNTS
Sydney Wathuta – AE Midfielder of the Year

• First Catamount in program history to receive this award
• Leads the league and ranks second nationally with 14 assists.
• Helped the Catamounts finish first in goals per game (1.94) and goal margin (1.1) in America East play.

Zach Barrett – AE Defender of the Year

• Anchored a Catamount defense that gave up just five goals in America East action, the lowest in the league.
• Third Catamount to be honored as Defender of the Year and first since Connor Tobin in 2008.
• Scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over NJIT

AE Coaching Staff of the Year – Rob Dow, Brad Cole, Rory Twomey, Brendan Pulley & Mack Walton

• Led Catamounts secured a share of the regular season title for the first time since 2019
• Led America East with 31 goals and ranked first with +17 differential

For news and updates on the Vermont men’s soccer program, follow @UVMmsoccer on Instagram, X and Facebook and visit UVMathletics.com.

EastRise Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont Soccer