December 18 – In the United States, the pinnacle for collegiate athletes is winning a National Collegiate Athlete Association (NCAA) title, and on Monday in a thrilling overtime classic, unseeded Vermont (15-2-6) won its first men’s soccer NCAA championship in programme history beating Marshall University (15-1-7).
With time ticking away at WakeMed Soccer Park at Cary, North Carolina, it would come down to ‘next goal wins’ and when Vermont forward Maximilian Kissel broke away on a counter-attack, it was up for grabs. As he rounded Thundering Herd goalkeeper, Aleksa Janjic, Kissel’s shirt came off and delirium ensued in the 2-1 victory.
This title marked the first ever sporting Division 1 title in the Catamount’s sporting history and provided the perfect cherry on top of the cake as the unseeded team had a mercurial run through the tournament beating higher ranked teams Iona, Hofstra, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Denver and Marshall.
A delighted Kissel told Andrew McDevitt on X: “It means every single thing. Vermont, always said, small school, in the middle of nowhere, small population, no one believes in us, no one picks us to win. They always doubt us but we always come out on top.”
The game was tied 0-0 at half-time before Marshall right winger Tarik Pannholzer scored in the 67th minute. Vermont tied it up through Marcell Papp in the 81st minute, and the game went to overtime.
“We’re animals, we never give up, we work, we run, we just put the work in and we have one goal, everybody, since day one – national champion,” added Yaniv Bazini.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1734515912labto1734515912ofdlr1734515912owedi1734515912sni@o1734515912fni1734515912