FINAL SCORE: #23 Vermont 4, #25 Bryant 0
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Four different Catamounts found the back of the net on Saturday night, and
Niklas Herceg notched his sixth clean sheet of the season as No. 23 Vermont (6-1-2, 1-0-0 AE) defeated No. 25 Bryant (5-2-1, 0-1-0 AE) 4-0 during UVM's annual Rally Around Mental Health Game presented by Redstone. With the win, Vermont secures three America East points in the first conference match of the season.
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COACH'S QUOTE
"It's huge, this was a top 25 game, we had to learn from our last game, but this is what I love about this group," said Head Coach Adrian Dubois. "These guys are dialed into finding solutions, holding themselves accountable and fixing the problem. Our team just put in a total team performance from all 28 guys. I thought it was an incredible effort, we stuck to the game plan and execution was outstanding."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Catamounts pounced first in the 11th minute thanks to Gabriel Chavez catching the Bryant goalkeeper out of position. Aimar Penalver came out of the goalkeeper box to play the ball, heading it right to Chavez in the middle of the field who made a heads-up play, rifling a shot from about 40 yards out, pinning the bottom right corner to secure his first goal of the season, earning the Catamounts a 1-0 lead.
- In the 31st minute, Bryant seemed to net an equalizer goal seeing Fernando Guerrero break free from Pieter Bultman inside the box, shooting to the bottom right corner, but after further review it was deemed that Guerrero fouled Bultman to secure the position, negating the Bulldog goal, keeping the score at 1-0 in favor of UVM.
- Vermont doubled its lead in the 63rd minute of play seeing Islam Houssni clear the ball from the Catamount zone, finding Aleksei Carnier who used his head to send Mark Isong on a breakaway. In his Catamount debut, Isong beat Penalver to the bottom right corner, scoring his first goal of the season and as a Catamount, earning UVM the 2-0 advantage.
- In the 80th minute, Vermont ran away with the lead, scoring two separate goals within 27 seconds of each other. UVM's third goal was scored by Stepan Fiker, his first as a Catamount, finding the corner kick taken by Luis Fischer on the back post, earning the Catamounts a 3-0 lead 79:31 into the match.
- UVM gained a four-goal cushion 27 seconds later when David Ismail sent Philipp Schmidtke on a fast break, maneuvering around Penalver who was far out of his six-yard box. Schmidtke used his right foot to bury his third goal of the season, propelling Vermont ahead 4-0.
- The Catamounts tamed any sort of last-minute Bulldog push, walking away with the 4-0 conference opening win from Virtue Field, securing three crucial America East points towards standings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Chavez, Fiker, and Isong all scored their first goal of the season on Saturday. Fiker and Isong secured their first goal as a Catamount.
- Isong notched his first goal in his Vermont debut against Bryant.
- Schmidtke recorded his third goal on the campaign, tied for the team lead in that department.
- Fischer recorded his sixth assist of the season, leading America East in that department.
- Carnier earned one assist on Saturday, his first point as a Catamount.
- Houssni registered his fourth assist on the campaign against Bryant.
- Ismail secured his third assist of the season, earning an assist in back-to-back matches for the first time in his career.
- Herceg notched four saves to earn his sixth shutout on the campaign, putting him at 22 career clean sheets with Vermont, tied for third most in program history.
- UVM outshot Bryant on goal five to four.
- 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 No. 25 Bryant to open America East play, the Catamounts will face a quick turnaround, getting three days to prepare for their final non-conference match of the season, welcoming UMass to Virtue Field on Tuesday (Sept. 29) with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday's matchup with the Minutemen will be UVM's Green Out Powered by Casella. The first 500 fans in attendance can receive a free co-branded hat, courtesy of Casella. Casella will be tabling along the concourse with fun and interactive activities for fans. All the action will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with
Brian McLaughlin on the call.
Local Motion Bike Valet Sept. 29 vs UMass
UVM ticket office will be providing $5.00 tickets to any fans who show us the valet tickets at the ticket office.
Local Motion's Valet Bike Parking (VBP) is a free, safe, and secure bike parking service that allows riders to safely park their bikes with a conscientious attendant and enjoy the event worry-free. Valet Bike Parking advocates for active transportation, fosters a sense of community, and is a powerful part of the solution to reduce fossil fuel consumption and create a healthier world.
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
