CARY, N.C. (WCAX) – The UVM men’s soccer team entered Friday just one game away from a national championship berth. It ended as one Catamount fans will remember for a very long time
Down 1-0 to Denver entering the 84th minute, who else but Yaniv Bazini. He’s scored in every tournament game so far, but none bigger than this. Vermont ties it at 1, and sends the game into overtime.
Fewer chances in the extra session, perhaps the best for Vermont on a try by Ryan Zellefrow, but it’s not to be, so the Catamounts head into penalty kicks. Vermont perfect after two, and Niklas Herceg with a huge save to give the Cats an edge, and with the match on the line, the Denver try is too high, and for the first time in program history, Vermont men’s soccer will play for a national championship.
“It’s a great feeling. The hard work and dedication that some of our guys have put in for the last 4-5 years, to finally see it come altogether it’s pretty special. But most importantly we have one more game to go,” UVM Defender Max Murray said.
“The communication between us and the defense is amazing. We trust each other,” Herceg said. “I trust Max and ZB as center backs and they trust me as a goalkeeper. We know that we don’t allow much goals, we don’t need much opportunities to score goals.”
“I felt like first half we chased a little bit, second half we brought pressure and ignited our counter attack a little better,” Head Coach Rob Dow said. “We’ve been scoring clutch goals all season long and this was no exception
Vermont trailed in the tournament Friday night for the first time this year, and it proved to be no problem. They’ll play Marshall on Monday night.