UVM soccer: NCAA championship parade on Burlington’s Church Street
Fans flocked Church Street to celebrate UVM men’s soccer’s historic national championship with a parade and rally.
Reigning NCAA champion Vermont soccer scored big with the major, year-end awards handed out by the America East Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
The Catamounts, who are currently ranked No. 2 in the country, dominated the announcement of the league’s all-conference honors along with Bryant, the nation’s sixth-ranked squad.
The major America East awards the Catamounts won include:
- Goalie of the year: Niklas Herceg.
- Defender of the year: Nick Lockermann.
- Rookie of the year: Nico Loebus.
- Coaching staff of the year: Head coach Rob Dow along with assistants Brad Cole, Rory Twomey, Owen Jack and Eric Bissell.
Herceg, a sophomore, ranks sixth in the nation with nine shutouts and 11th in goals-against average (.0647). The fourth Catamount to receive the top goalie honor, Herceg conceded just twice with five shutouts in seven league games this fall.
The junior Lockermann has started all 17 games this season for the Catamounts and has two goals and two assists. He’s the second straight Vermont player to be named the defender of the year, joining Zack Barrett.
Loebus is tied for third in the league in assists (five) and has started all 17 games in the midfield.
Dow and his coaching staff steered the Catamounts to their first outright regular-season title in America East since 2017. They were the preseason No. 1 team in the country and slotted fourth in the latest RPI rankings.
Vermont’s two goals allowed in conference play is tied for the fewest in league history.
Herceg and Lockermann also landed on the America East first team along with teammates David Ismail, Andrew Millar and Ryan Zellefrow. Loebus, Philipp Kuhn and Rui Aoki were second-team selections, and Loebus, Ludvig af Ugglas and Toby Grant earned all-rookie nods.
Ismail, Vermont’s leader in goals with eight, and Millar were also named to the all-academic team. Ismail, a business administration major, owns a 3.84 GPA. Millar, who’s majoring in public communications, has a 3.36 GPA.
Top-seeded Vermont (12-0-5) carries a nation-leading 27-game unbeaten streak into its conference semifinal vs. No. 4 New Hampshire. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Virtue Field on Wednesday, Nov. 12. It will be streamed on ESPN+.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
