BURLINGTON, Vt. – No. 7 Vermont (2-0) welcomes No. 18 Charlotte (1-0-1, American Conference) to Virtue Field for a nationally-ranked non-conference duel on Friday, Aug. 28. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
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VERMONT OUTLOOK

• UVM welcomes a ranked opponent to Virtue Field for a regular season bout for just the fourth time since 2022. The Catamounts have notched a 2-0-1 record in those matches. UVM most recently defeating Akron 1-0 in 2025 who were the No. 3 ranked team in the country at the time, securing the highest ranked regular season win in program history. The other ranked opponents to come through Catamount Country in the regular season were New Hampshire who was No. 21 in 2022 (Vermont won 2-1) and Syracuse who was No. 15 in 2022 (1-1 tie).
• The Catamounts had three players earn America East weekly awards following the matches from week one, seeing David Ismail be named the Offensive Player of the Week, Islam Houssni be named Defensive Player of the Week, and Niklas Herceg named Goalkeeper of the Week.
• Vermont is looking to start the season with three consecutive victories, a feature that hasn't been done since 2021.
• UVM and Charlotte faceoff for just the second time in program history. The last meeting between these two programs came in 1991 when the Catamounts traveled to Charlotte, NC and battled to a 0-0 draw. This will be the first time the 49ers play at Virtue Field.
• Vermont defeated George Mason 2-0 in the season opener behind a brace from David Ismail, his second career brace, and followed it up with a 4-1 victory over Colgate in their second match of the season where four different Catamounts found the back of the net (Luis Fischer, Houssni, Ismail, and Philipp Schmidtke).

 
SCOUTING THE 49ERS

• Charlotte was picked to finish first in the American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll for the third consecutive.
• The 49ers had three players selected on the American preseason All-Conference team, including senior forward Natsuki Ogata, sophomore defender Samuel Manufor, and fellow sophomore defender James Nyandjo. Additionally, Ogata was named American Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Manufor was named American Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
• Charlotte is 1-0-1 after the first two matches of the 2026 season, defeating West Virginia 3-0 at home when the Mountaineers were ranked No. 23 in the nation, and battling to a 1-1 draw against Wofford on Jen Gaber Field.
• Friday's nationally ranked non-conference duel marks the first road match for the 49ers this season.
• Junior forward Mikey Raggett leads the Charlotte squad in scoring so far this season with two goals, securing a brace in the 49ers season opener against Vest Virginia.

 
Join the Catamounts on Tour as Men's Soccer visits Hofstra!
Vermont fans are invited to join us on Tuesday, September 15 from 5-6:30 for a pregame social with pizza and giveaways in the parking lot next to Captain's Field at Hofstra University and then head into the game for the 7pm start!  For more information and to let us know you plan to join us, please visit go.uvm.edu/catsathofstra!
 
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