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.
Vermont soccer made a statement on Saturday, Oct. 25.
The defending NCAA champion remains the team to beat. And that includes in its own conference.
Behind a pair of first-half goals from Philipp Kuhn, the No. 7 ranked Catamounts dispatched No. 2 Bryant for a 2-1 road victory in an America East showdown that was a first for the league. The conference had yet to have two top-10 nationally ranked teams play against each other in the regular season — regardless of sport — until Saturday’s heavyweight matchup in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Vermont (10-0-5, 4-0-1) also extended its nation-leading unbeaten streak to 25 games in a row and took over first place in America East from Bryant (13-1-2, 4-1).
Kuhn opened the scoring in the third minute. Andrew Miller beat two Bryant defenders to the ball down the right sideline and drove a ground cross into the box for Kuhn, who knocked a low, driven shot with his left foot inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.
In the 29th minute, Kuhn again delivered with his left foot. Marcell Papp uncorked a diagonal ball for Kuhn, who took one touch inside the box and knocked a cheeky touch finish near the same spot as his first goal.
In the second half, Bryant drew one back on Santiago Blasco Gomez’s tally in the 70th minute. But Vermont held on despite Bryant advantages in shots (15-6) and corners (7-2).
Vermont goalie Niklas Herceg made four stops.
Who’s next for Vermont soccer?
The Catamounts host Albany on Friday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. before they play at Binghamton in the regular-season finale on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
