UVM men's soccer defeats Marshall in the NCAA national championship

(This story has been updated with new information).

CARY, NC – How many lives do the Vermont Catamounts have? Just enough to win a gold NCAA Men’s Soccer National Championship.

For the second straight game, Vermont forced overtime with a late equalizer, and for the second straight game, Vermont outlasted its opponent and completed an incredible NCAA Tournament run for the program’s first national title in its College Cup debut.

Marcell Papp’s 81st-minute equalizer sent the title game into overtime Monday night, where the unseeded Catamounts won it on Maximilian Kissel’s breakaway goal with 5:06 left in the first overtime period to secure a 2-1 victory over No. 13 Marshall WakeMed Soccer Park.

Vermont (16-2-6) becomes the second Catamount team to win an NCAA title, joining the ski program (six crowns). It is also the first NCAA team championship in any sport won by a school in the America East Conference.

And the Catamounts became the first unseeded squad to win the crown in a non-COVID full-field NCAA tournament since 2006. Marshall won everything in 2020 in a reduced field.

“I just want these guys to know for the rest of their lives that they are national champions,” said eighth-year Vermont head coach Rob Dow. “We won’t be the last America East team to win a national championship. I received text messages from every coach in our conference wishing us good luck.”

“This is a great success for the conference.”

And of course, it was an impressive, well-deserved result for the Vermont program and its supporters. Zach Barrett and his backline teammate Max Murray decided to return for another season to achieve their five-year goal of winning an NCAA title. The Catamounts had a close decision by reaching the quarterfinals in 2022 and being eliminated in the round of 16 last year.

“I’m speechless right now. “It’s just an incredible feeling to know that my decision paid off just like it did with Max,” said Barrett. “We didn’t finish last year the way we wanted to, so it’s just incredible to come back and give even more to this program that means so much to me and the entire state of Vermont.”

Marshall scored the first goal in the 67th minute. Tarik Pannholzer lunged for the rebound goal after a shot from goalkeeper Niklas Herceg in front of the Vermont goal. Rai Pinto hit the cross from the baseline and Herceg dived but couldn’t hold on to the well-hit ball. Pannholzer came into play with a high shot and ended the stalemate.

But the Catamounts wouldn’t go down gently, as they have all season.

Papp and David Ismail worked quickly up and down at the top of the 18. Ismail’s back pass into the penalty area caused Papp to jump. And the second-half substitute coolly fired a low shot into the left post in the 81st minute. It was Vermont’s 21st goal in the 76th minute or later this season.

“When other teams get tired, that gives us strength,” Barrett said. “We worked hard in training. At the beginning of the year we had our record fitness test. When other people start getting heavy legs, we just get stronger.”

More:‘Perfect fit right now’: Semifinal equalizer saved Vermont Soccer’s NCAA title hopes

Then in OT, Barrett had possession of the ball in his own court and fired a deep ball down the right sideline for Kissel. Kissel fended off a Marshall defender and got to goalkeeper Aleksa Janjic alone. Kissel dribbled around Janjic before placing a left-handed finish into the open net to send the Catamount fans and the bench in the back corner into wild celebration.

It was Kissel’s eleventh goal of the season, all as a substitute. The junior was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player for his walk-off championship win.

“No team in this country can defend us for 90 minutes,” said Kissel. “We always get a chance, whether it’s in the first minute or the 90th minute, we always get one and take advantage of it.”

Before the winning goal, Kissel performed well towards the end of regular time, but Janjic saved well to his right and kept the game at 1.

“You have to move on and not hold on to the past, but move forward. That’s how we keep a positive attitude,” Kissel said. “You can never predict what’s going to happen, so I just stay calm – that’s the secret to being honest and relaxed.”

Vermont edged Denver in the College Cup semifinals on Friday, securing a 4-3 shootout victory to advance to Monday’s final. Vermont made its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and finished 14th overall.

Herceg, the standout defensive player, made four saves while Janjic stopped five shots for Marshall (15-2-7), which only fell behind in this tournament with Kissel’s golden goal.

Yaniv Bazini, Barrett and Papp were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

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UVM men’s soccer defeats Marshall in the NCAA national championship

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