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After their 3-2 overtime win over UCF Sunday night in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament Vermont (13-5-2, 4-3-0 AE) has traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia to face the 5-seed West Virginia (15-2-4, 5-1-3) in the Round of 16 Saturday afternoon. The opening kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN+ from the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Nick Farrell and Adam Zundell will have the call of Saturday's contest on ESPN+.
RELATED LINKS
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
Listen Live (free - WVU Broadcast)
Second Round at #12 UCF: CatamounTV Highlights | Photo Gallery
CatamounTV Press Conference: Bazini | Dow | Johnson
CatamounTV: 1-on-1 with Coach Dow
WATCH PARTIES IN BURLINGTON
Vermont Athletics is hosting three Watch Parties with our partners on Saturday. Wear your green & gold and support the club in West Virginia!
Duke's Public House - 1117 Williston Rd, South Burlington
Nectar's - 188 Main St, Burlington.
Zero Gravity - 716 Pine St, Burlington.
POSTSEASON MAGIC NUMBER IS THREE
Vermont is 9-1-0 all-time in the postseason when scoring three or more goals. Their only loss was a 4-3 overtime tilt in the 1975 NCAA Tournament. In all five of Vermont's NCAA Tournament wins during Coach Dow's tenure UVM has scored three goals.
BAZINI GOAL BODES WELL FOR THE CATAMOUNTS
Redshirt junior
Yaniv Bazini leads the Vermont attack with 11 goals and four assists this season for 26 points. In the two NCAA games this postseason he has three goals and an assist. In his career UVM has a 12-1-2 mark when he finds the back of the net.
CATS IN THE TOURNAMENT
UVM's NCAA Tournament berth is its 13th in program history. The Catamounts are 9-11-2 and have advanced to the quarterfinals twice in program history last season and in 1989. Last year UVM bested Quinnipiac in the opening round, SMU on the road in the second round and UCLA in third round before falling to the eventual national champion Syracuse 2-1 in the quarterfinals. The 2022 Catamounts were the first team in program history to reach a fourth game in the NCAA Tournament. In 1989 Vermont beat UConn and Yale, before falling to Rutgers in the regional finals.
This is the first time in program history the Catamounts have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons. They are the third Vermont athletic program to do so. From 1992-94 the women's basketball team was the first program at UVM to complete the feat, the men's basketball team did so from 2003-05.
NEW HEIGHTS FOR AMERICA EAST
The America East is one of five conferences with three or more teams selected to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The three selections to the Tournament field are the most in a single season in conference history. The America East entered the NCAA Tournament with the fifth best conference RPI in the nation, trailing just the ACC, Pac-12, Sun Belt and Big Ten. In 2014, UMBC became the first America East program to advance to the College Cup, where it fell 1-0 to Virginia in the NCAA Semifinals.
DOW BECOMES THIRD HEAD COACH TO LEAD UVM TO THREE NCAA TOURNEYS
With the Catamounts third straight NCAA Tournament berth Head Coach
Rob Dow becomes the third coach in program history to lead UVM to the NCAAs three or more times. Paul Reinhardt (1975, '77, '78, 1981) and Jesse Cormier (2007, '15, 16) also did so.
With five NCAA tournament wins Dow has the most in program history. Recently inducted UVM Hall of Fame Ron McEachen (1985-1995) and Cormier each advanced in the tournament twice during their tenure.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
West Virginia has been ranked in the top-10 of the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 for nine straight weeks. They're currently ranked fifth in the country and have been ranked as high as second this season. The Mountaineers are 18-1-9 at the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium over the last three seasons. Their last home loss came on September 9, 2022 a 2-1 loss to Yale.
Sophomore Marcus Caldeira leads the Mountaineers with 12 goals while senior Yutaro Tsukada has a team-high 29 points on 10 goals and nine assists Tsukada scored the game-winner against Louisville in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, his sixth game-winning goal of the season, third most in the nation.
The five-seed is the highest in program history in the NCAA Tournament, surpassing the previous high of No. 6 set back in 2006. The Mountaineers are 6-2-1 all-time at home in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday afternoon will be the first time in program history WVU has hosted a third round contest.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's matchup will be the first between the two in program history. The Mountaineers play in the Sun Belt Conference and posted a 2-2 tie at UCF on September 15, the Knights are the only common opponent for the two clubs. West Virginia is 2-4-1 all-time against teams from America East - 2-0-0 vs. Binghamton, 0-4-1 vs. UMBC.
LOCKERMANN NAMED AMERICA EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Nuremberg, Germany native
Nick Lockermann became the seventh Catamount in program history to be named America East Rookie of the Year. He is the first Catamount to receive the honor since
Daniel Pacella in the 2020-21 spring season. Lockermann posted a team-high seven assists in his rookie campaign, which ranked second in America East. The defender registered four helpers against league foes, which was also second in league play. Lockermann ranked third on the Catamounts in points (7).
ALL-CONFERENCE CATAMOUNTS
Eight Catamounts combined for 10 All-America East honors.
Yaniv Bazini and
Zach Barrett were named to the All-Conference First Team.
Carter Johnson,
Adrian Schulze Solano, and
Jake Ashford received Second Team honors.
Nick Lockermann,
Sydney Wathuta, and
Andrew Millar were named to the All-Rookie Team.
WHAT'S NEXT
The winner of Saturday's contest will face the winner of the third-round matchup between James Madison and #25 LMU for a 2023 College Cup berth. The Lions are hosting the Dukes at 10 p.m. (ET) Saturday night on ESPN+. Full matchup details for the quarterfinal will be posted to UVMAthletics.com when available.
New England Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's soccer
