FINAL SCORE: Vermont 5, Harvard 0
BURLINGTON, Vt. – History was made on Saturday evening from Virtue Field as the Catamounts earned back-to-back five goal shutout victories for the first time ever, pouring on three goals in the final two and a half minutes of play, securing Vermont (4-1-2) its third victory in a row and second five goal shutout win in just as many games, defeating Harvard (0-2-3) 5-0 in the team's Gold Rush game.
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights
COACH'S QUOTE
"Harvard had a game plan that was well executed for most of the game," said Head Coach
Rob Dow. "Our bench was ready to make an impact today and they did. Proud of
Nash Barlow for getting his first goal in the green and gold.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Vermont found a way to break through, scoring first late in the opening half after back-and-forth competitive play. David Ismail caught wind streaking down the short side of the field, centering the ball to Papp Marcell, who made a brilliant touch, setting up his shot low left corner, scoring his second goal of the season to give the Catamounts the 1-0 lead with just over a minute and a half remaining in the opening frame.
- A phenomenal individual effort from Sydney Wathuta put Vermont ahead 2-0 when he danced his way past his defender, shooting from just outside the box and pinning the ball in the top right corner for his first goal of the season, giving the Catamounts a two-goal cushion.
- Papp scored his second goal of the game with 2:34 remaining of action after receiving an impressive back heel pass from Maximilian Kissel, placing the ball in the same spot as his first goal, bottom left corner, securing Vermont the 3-0 advantage with time quickly running out.
- A critical mistake from Harvard's goalkeeper set up Kissel with a wide-open net 21 seconds later, scoring his fourth goal of the season to put Vermont ahead 4-0.
- The Catamounts weren't done yet. Just when the match looked complete, UVM scored a fifth goal to make it 5-0 with 1:23 remaining when the Burlington, Vermont native, Nash Barlow, was fed by Connor Thompson, placing his shot to the low left corner where it bounced off the post and into the net, inevitably sealing the deal and earning the Catamounts back-to-back five-goal shutout wins.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Vermont scored on all five of its shots on goal Saturday evening.
- In the teams' 16th matchup, it was the first time Vermont has defeated Harvard by three or more goals.
- The Catamounts have scored 13 goals in their last three games, it is the first time the program has done so since October of 1990.
- Vermont scored three goals in 71 seconds to seal the deal late in the second half.
- Papp scored his first brace in a Vermont uniform with two shots on goal and 35 minutes played. Papp has scored in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
- Wathuta cashed in on his first goal of the season against Harvard, earning him points in four straight games. Wathuta now has notched a point or more in five of the first seven matches this season.
- Kissel notched one goal and one assist, earning a goal and an assist in back-to-back games for the first time in a Catamounts uniform.
- Thompson recorded his first career point, tallying one assist against Harvard to go along with 17 minutes played.
- Lou Liedtka tallied his third shutout of the season and second in a row, registering three saves against Harvard on Saturday night.
UP NEXT
Following the win over Harvard, UVM begins America East play on Saturday (Sept. 28) when they stay home for their third game of a four-game homestand, hosting conference foe, New Hampshire. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET at Virtue Field and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
For news and updates about the Vermont men's soccer program, follow @UVMmsoccer on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
New England Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont soccer
