BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Thousands of fans crowded Church Street cheering for what is now one of the best soccer teams in the nation.
“It is just wonderful, the whole community is out here. Kids, old people, people who don’t even know what soccer is,” parent Signe Daly said.
Signe Daly is a big fan of the UVM Men’s Soccer team, and she is also a soccer mom. And during the UVM Men’s Soccer Championship Parade, she says nothing could stop her from cheering on her son who’s on the team.
“Yes, our son Carl is on the team and he’s born and raised Burlington. Burlington High School, so we are just really proud to have a local kid. Along with Nash Barlow, he is also from Burlington. So you got two kids on the team,” Daly said.
Vermont’s own UVM “Cardiac Cats” won this year’s 2024 NCAA National Championship – the program’s first-ever national championship.
The parade took off at the end of Church Street. Players piled up in trucks, and moved through the streets, throwing t-shirts at the crowd.
There was music and shouting, and a whole lot of fun.
Fans say they could not believe how many people came out for the team.
“Love the music, love being here with all my fellow students and friends. Just good vibes, the sun is out, I can’t believe it,” Jocie Pickhardt, a UVM student said.
And UVM students say they are excited that even their small state team is making a big impact in the sports world.
“I mean, people are saying that Vermont is a soccer state or a soccer school. And, you know, it is great to see because we have teams, like I am on the women’s soccer team. The boys are now national champions, over mount green. So it is just great to see, you know, this sport get the recognition it deserves,” Lauren DeGroot of the UVM Women’s Soccer team said,
And even past coaches like Ron Mceachen joined the parade.
“Just knowing we got back to the final eight when I was here. For them to take it to the final level is just incredible,” Mceachen said.