David Ismail broke his nose and maxilla, his upper jaw bone, when he was on the wrong side of a bloody collision during Vermont soccer‘s victory over Lehigh on Sept. 6.
One week later, Ismail returned wearing a face mask — cleared by doctors on the eve of the No. 13 Catamounts’ nationally ranked showdown vs. No. 3 Akron.
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“He’s a father figure within our team. Great leadership, good intensity and ready for his moments,” Vermont coach Rob Dow said. “He’s just a winner.”
And Ismail showed it on the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Ismail’s volley into the back of the Akron net early in the second half was enough for the Catamounts to blank the Zips 1-0 in front of 2,843 at Virtue Field for the program’s biggest win yet during their NCAA title defense campaign.
It’s also the highest regular-season win over a ranked opponent in team history. The Catamounts improve to 4-0-3 on the season.
“(Doctors) said the risk was OK if I play with a mask. I knew if I was cleared, I was going to play,” Ismail said. “It was the same preparation as any other game.”
David Ismail scores in Vermont men’s soccer’s 1-0 win over Akron at sold-out Virtue Field on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.
After missing a golden chance in the early minutes of the first half, Ismail made amends for his second goal of 2025 with a technically brilliant finish in the 48th minute. In a build-up with pace and precision, Philipp Kuhn laid off a square ball near the home sideline for Ryan Zellefrow, who opened his foot to deliver a pass into the corner for Connor Thompson.
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Thompson then uncorked a driven cross into the box for Ismail, who arrived near post on the edge of the goalie’s box to one-time a curling shot to the other side of the net to break the stalemate.
“We talked about it at halftime: ‘Let’s assert ourselves. We are at home, we have the emotion of our community … and let’s continue to put it on them,'” Dow said. “And to score that quick out of halftime is really good identity.”
After needing to rally with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes to salvage a 3-3 tie with Dartmouth earlier this week, the Catamounts put an emphasis on how “the little things that can equal a result,” Dow said.
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“Blocked shots, tracking back, hard runs — guys doing their job,” Dow said. It might not be the most attractive thing, but we are playing good team soccer and we showed that — finally — today.”
Vermont goalie Niklas Herceg turned back three saves for his third clean sheet this fall.
Who’s next for Vermont soccer?
The Catamounts wrap their four-game homestand on Tuesday, Sept. 16 when they play host to Hofstra in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament second-round contest.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont soccer: David Ismail carries Catamounts past No. 3 Akron
