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The UVM men’s soccer team is on a roll, winning three-straight NCAA tournament games and advancing to the quarterfinals to play the No. 2 seed Pittsburgh Panthers live on national television.
The Catamounts claimed the America East Conference title last month to secure their spot in the Division 1 NCAA men’s soccer tournament bracket. Since then they’ve knocked out three straight opponents and will face Pittsburgh Saturday for a spot in the Final Four.
Their first tournament win was at home on Virtue Field on Nov. 21, when they dispatched Iona University with a 5-0 win. The Catamounts then traveled to New York for a second-round game against seventh-seed Hofstra University on Nov. 24. They won a tight, 2-1 battle with goals from senior Yaniv Bazini and junior David Ismail.
That win secured a third-round game for UVM for the third straight year.
“We appreciate every moment that we’re here together,” Bazini said at a press conference Sunday alongside teammate Max Murray, a graduate student. “This is our — mine and Max’s last year — and we appreciate it, but even the freshmen, if they play, don’t play, they give it all.”
The Catamounts traveled to California for a third-round game Sunday against the University of San Diego. The game remained scoreless through regulation before Bazini scored on a penalty kick in overtime. The win secured a trip to the quarterfinals for the second time in the past three years.
“It’s a real, real blessing to be where we are,” head coach Rob Dow said at the Sunday press conference. “It takes an extreme amount of hard work and sacrifice, and it’s gonna take that to beat Pitt, but we’re up to the task and we’re just really happy to continue to define Vermont soccer as being one of the top programs in this country.”
The Catamounts will face Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN.
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