FINAL SCORE: Vermont 4, UMass Lowell 3
LOWELL, MA. – A brace from
David Ismail along with goals from
Pieter Bultman and
Aleksei Carnier helped propel Vermont (10-2-4, 4-1-2 AE) past UMass Lowell (5-7-3, 1-5-1 AE) 4-3 on Tuesday night from Cushing Field during both teams' regular season finale. With the result, Vermont will enter the 2026 America East Tournament as the two-seed, hosting either six-seeded Binghamton or three-seeded Bryant in the semifinals from Virtue Field on Wednesday, November 11 at 7 p.m.
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
2026 America East Semifinal Ticket Link
COACH'S QUOTE
"Credit to Lowell, they made us earn everything tonight," said Head Coach Adrian Dubois. "I'm incredibly proud of the grit, resilience, and determination our guys showed to find a way to win. There's a toughness and resilience about this program and I thought our team reflected that spirit tonight. It was a hard-earned win, and I'm proud of the way our guys responded to the challenge."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Catamounts wasted hardly any time pouncing on the scoreboard first, scoring in just the second minute of play when Arthur Caldas fed Bultman inside the six-yard box, using his head to pin the ball to the bottom left corner, tallying his fifth goal of the season and propelling Vermont in front early, 1-0.
- In the 21st minute, the Riverhawks almost found an equalizer when Linus Musielak took a try on goal, but his attempt rang off the crossbar as the Catamounts maintained their one goal advantage.
- UMass Lowell orchestrated another prime scoring opportunity in the 43rd minute before halftime, seeing a Riverhawk player send a cross that found the head of Maxim Makar who tried to deflect the ball to the bottom left corner, but Alec Laible was there to make a diving save, clearing the ball out of harm's way. Vermont entered the halftime break with a 1-0 lead.
- Just over three minutes into the second half, Marinho Oldenburg knotted the score at 1-1 for the Riverhawks. Santiago Somorrostro earned an assist on UMass Lowell's first goal. Jean-David Mougenot Koffi was assessed a red card following the goal, forcing Vermont to play down a man with 10 players for the remainder of regulation.
- The Riverhawks struck again in the 54th minute, seeing Somorrostro find the back of the net for the fourth time this season, gaining UMass Lowell a 2-1 advantage.
- Vermont responded in the 55th minute off a corner kick taken by Halim Bangura, placing the ball directly in the middle of the six-yard box. Islam Houssni was the first Catamount to get a head on that ball, finding Carnier who finished the play into the net using a header of his own, securing his second goal of the season and equalizing the game at 2-2.
- The Catamounts regained the lead just moments later in the 57th minute of play when Bultman sent Carnier on a fast break with Ismail by his side. Carnier elected to dish a pass to Ismail who wasted no time pinning the right corner of the net, scoring his sixth goal of the season and earning Vermont the 3-2 lead.
- Justin Godbout-Garon tied the match for UMass Lowell in the 77th minute, firing a dart to the bottom right corner, knotting the match at 3-3.
- In the 84th minute, the Catamounts scored a go-ahead goal when Patrick Aguilar connected with Ismail on a give-and-go play, seeing Ismail receive the second pass from Aguilar and rifle a shot to the top right corner, tallying his third brace of the season, earning Vermont the 4-3 advantage with time quickly winding down.
- While still playing with just 10 players, the Catamounts were able to successfully tame the rest of UMass Lowell's offensive pushes, walking away from the regular season finale with the 4-3 road victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ismail recorded his third brace of the season while notching a match high three shots on goal. Ismail is up to seven goals on the campaign, a team high.
- Carnier tallied one goal and one assist against UMass Lowell, the second time this season scoring a goal and an assist in the same contest.
- Bultman notched his fifth goal of the season on Tuesday night while playing in all 90 minutes of play.
- Houssni registered his fifth assist of the season while playing in all 90 minutes of play.
- Caldas tallied his first career assist on Tuesday night.
- Bangura and Aguilar each earned their second assist of the season.
- UVM outshot UMass Lowell on goal eight to five.
- Vermont secures a top-four seed into the America East Tournament for the 12th consecutive season.
- With today's Win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to the Ronald McDonald House through the Cat's Win, Community Win's initiative. Vermont Mutual has donated over $6.4 Million Dollars since launching their Charitable Giving Fund.
UP NEXT
Following the win over UMass Lowell in the regular season finale, the Catamounts will be the two-seed in the upcoming 2026 America East Tournament. UVM will host the winner of Saturday's (Nov. 7) Binghamton/Bryant quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, November 11 at 7 p.m. from Virtue Field. Wednesday's semifinal contest will air live on ESPN+.
All season ticket holders will have the opportunity to secure postseason tickets before they become available to the general public, either through a priority ticket application or an exclusive presale.
Premium General Admission season ticket holders will receive access to tickets through the application process, while General Admission season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase tickets during the presale.
The season ticket holder presale will begin tomorrow (Nov. 4) at 8:00 AM and remain open through November 9 at 8:00 AM. Tickets will then become available to the general public beginning November 9 at 12:00 PM.
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
