Vermont soccer head coach Rob Dow had maybe an hour or two with his newborn son before departing Thanksgiving day for California ahead of the Catamounts’ third-round NCAA Tournament game at San Diego.
After the thrilling overtime triumph, Dow and the Catamounts returned to Vermont in the middle of the night. The newest arrival in the Dow household was waiting for his dad.
“I was missing that guy every minute when I was in San Diego,” Dow said. “It was cool to put him on my chest and let him fall asleep. He’s most happy on someone’s chest. That’s my medal around my neck.”
The around-the-clock work and sleepless nights haven’t stopped for Dow.
From balancing a busy family life to leading the Catamounts to the first College Cup berth in program history, Dow has the America East program from the Green Mountain State within a once unthinkable goal: Winning a national championship.
“It’s kind of unbelievable. He’s insanely focused on what we are doing and he’s very focused on his family and he probably doesn’t have a second in the day for anything but those two things,” associate head coach Brad Cole said. “He’s fully dialed in. It’s pretty remarkable.”
Dow and Vermont resume their historic run Friday when the Catamounts (15-2-5) meet third-seeded Denver (15-3-4) in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Game time on ESPNU is 5:06 p.m., with the winner advancing to Monday night’s national title game.
More:Vermont soccer vs Denver: What to know for the College Cup semifinal clash
The Catamounts have spent the last several seasons building to this moment: They reached the quarterfinals in 2022 and the third round last year. They have the most NCAA Tournament victories (9) out of any program in the country over that time span.
“I’m more of an actions speak louder words type person. I can’t put it in a sparkling narrative,” Dow said. “But how this program is coached, it’s us trusting the players and empowering them to bring their best versions of themselves to the team while putting the team first.”
Dow, 43, fully admits he needs “to do my part” as a father while acknowledging that without support at home, the eighth-year Vermont coach wouldn’t be able to pull this off. Dow’s wife, Loren Bowley Dow, is an assistant dean of undergraduates at Dartmouth College.
“I’m really fortunate to be married Loren Bowley Dow, who’s been the most amazing mother to Hanson and now Russel. She’s been carrying all the weight,” said Dow, while also thanking his in-laws and other family members and friends. “I’ve gotten more sleep than a usual new dad.”
Dow’s also been pleasantly surprised by his community, both locally and the surrounding area. Dow said small businesses have reached out to assist and he’s received messages with offers to help drive his older son to hockey practice.
“Burlington and Vermont have come through. I feel very indebted to only be a soccer coach and get this type of support,” Dow said. “If we can do anything in return, it’s to make the community proud on the field.”
On his visit to Vermont in spring 2019, Zach Barrett received a different message from Dow and his coaching staff than from other schools vying for the highly touted defender from Pennsylvania.
“Talking to other schools, some of the coaches wanted to win conference championships. (Dow) definitely had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish and what he wanted to do with the program: He wanted to win a national championship,” Barrett said.
“That was something that was unique to hear, for me, and I was definitely all in on that.”
Barrett, a fifth-year senior who was named the America East Conference defender of the year this fall, is joined on the backline by classmate Max Murray. Defensive midfielder Adrian Schulze Solano, in his fourth year at UVM, and striker Yaniv Bazini, who has 30 goals in three seasons in Burlington since transferring following two years at North Carolina State, make up the core of a Catamounts squad that has made good on Dow’s pitch.
“This is where we belong,” Cole said of playing in the College Cup. “In house, this is what we planned for (the players), this is what we promised. And they are the ones getting it done.”
Cole, a Vermont native who played for the Catamounts from 2010-2014, returned for his second coaching stint on Dow’s staff prior to the 2023 campaign. In-between his UVM gigs, Cole achieved high-level success coaching at Cornell and Portland, the latter of whom went to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2022.
One reason Cole came back to Vermont, was to help build a program that can sustain high national aspirations year in and year out. And Dow’s direction from the top turned that optimism into reality.
“He does a really good job of empowering everyone to be really good within their role. And that’s what a head coach is supposed to do,” Cole said. “What we’ve been doing recently has been building something that will be consistently good every year.
“That what has separated us.”
Since taking over for Jesse Cormier in 2017, Dow is 94-30-15 at UVM with four NCAA Tournament appearances and a program-record nine tourney victories.
“He’s going to be the guy who I think can elevate the program to an even higher level than where it is,” Cormier said when Dow was promoted to head coach in February 2017.
Dow, Cole and Co. recruit players who can play multiple positions. They recruit hard-working players. They recruit players who want to put the team ahead of the individual.
It’s why, according to Cole, Vermont will “probably never have a top-25 recruiting class on Top Drawer Soccer.”
“We are pretty transparent, that we are a blue-collar team,” Cole said. “We are looking under different rocks for players, that’s kind of our niche. We have to go an alternate route, but we aren’t going to sacrifice the level (of play). We are going to hold true the highest standards for our recruiting.”
That philosophy has shined this fall. When Dow realized his preferred 4-4-2 formation wouldn’t cut it, Vermont played in a 3-6-1 and 3-5-2. Against Pittsburgh in last weekend’s quarterfinals, the Catamounts started in a 4-4-2 and then switched to a 4-3-3 — which they hadn’t previously trained for — for the second half of the 2-0 win.
“We recruit players who are versatile,” Dow said. “But most important, we recruit players who are willing to do what’s needed for the team first, then where they are comfortable second.”
While they brought back 16 returnees, the Catamounts also integrated newcomers who have become influential and vital to this run.
Mike Bleeker, a transfer from American, solidified the back line with Barrett and Murray. Freshman goalie Niklas Herceg returned from a hand injury midseason and has pitched six shutouts in 14 games. Nathan Simeon, a transfer from San Francisco who’s originally from Montreal, has started 14 matches, and was noticeably effective in locking down one of Pitt’s top wingers.
Of attacking players, newcomers Maximilian Kissel, Marcell Papp and Ryan Zellefrow have combined for 16 goals and five assists.
“It’s a big testament to Rob’s work,” Barrett said. “The culture isn’t going to be the same every year, but the values and principles are going to be the same.
“We’ll be the hardest-working team, the most fit team and we’ll play for all 90 minutes.”
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
