#16 Men’s Soccer Hits the Road to Face UMBC on Saturday Night

BURLINGTON, Vt. – No. 16 Men's Soccer (7-1-3, 1-0-1 AE) will travel to Baltimore, MD where they will face America East foe UMBC (3-5-1, 0-2-0 AE) on Saturday (Oct. 10) from Retriever Soccer Park. Kickoff for the Catamounts' first road conference match of the season is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

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VERMONT OUTLOOK

Vermont most recently competed in its second conference match of the season, battling to a 1-1 draw hosting NJIT on Saturday (Oct. 3) in front of a sold out Virtue Field. After going down a goal early in the match, the Catamounts rallied back to score an equalizing goal courtesy of Philipp Schmidtke, notching his fourth of the season, tied for the team league in that department. David Ismail tallied an assist, his team leading tenth point of the year while Ezra Widman notched the secondary assist, his second consecutive match registering a helper.
UVM holds a 13-8-1 all-time record over UMBC, entering Saturday's contest with a two-match win streak over the Retrievers. The Catamounts are seeking their first victory on the road at UMBC since the 2018 season.
With the result against NJIT on Oct. 3, Vermont extended its regular season home unbeaten streak to 26 matches dating back to October 27, 2023. (18-0-8).
As a team, Vermont ranks in first in numerous statistical categories in America East including assists per game (2.45, 17th in the country), goal differential (+15, 13th in the country), points per game (6.45, 32nd in the country), scoring offense (2.00, 38th in the country), total assists (27, 14th in the country), total goals (22, 37th in the country), and total points (71, 31st in the country).
Individually, several Catamounts rank atop the America East in numerous statistical categories. Niklas Herceg has notched seven shutouts, tied for first in the country, leading America East. Herceg also leads America East in goalie minutes played (990:00), goals against average (0.636), save percentage (0.844), and is ranked in the top three in saves per game (3.45) and total saves (38). Luis Fischer ranks first in assists per game (0.64, eighth in the country), and total assists (7, fifth in the country). Ismail ranks first in shot accuracy (0.571, 30th in the country).
Pieter Bultman is tied for the team lead in goals (4), also tied for fourth most in the country by a defender.

SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS

UMBC was selected to finish fifth in the 2026 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, currently holding a 3-5-1 overall record and a 0-2-0 record in conference play.
The Retrievers are on a three-match skid right now losing to William & Mary 2-1 on Sept. 19, falling to UMass Lowell in their conference opener 3-2 on Sept. 26, and most recently dropping their second conference match to Bryant 1-0 on Oct. 2.
In UMBC's last eight matches, the team is 1-5-1 with one match resulting in a no contest.
The Catamounts will be the second nationally ranked opponent UMBC has faced this season, previously competing against, at the time, No. 22 Old Dominion. The Retrievers fell 5-1 in that bout.
First year forward Flynn Holdem and junior forward Abdul Kamara both are tied for the team lead in points (6) and goals (3).

For news and updates about 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

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