Vermont men’s soccer will be home to begin its NCAA Tournament journey for a fourth straight season.
The America East Conference champion Catamounts (11-2-5) drew the Iona Gaels (11-4-3) in a first-round matchup slated for Thursday night at Virtue Field. Game time is set for 6 p.m., and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Vermont will play in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in its history, fourth in a row and sixth since 2015. Vermont booked its spot this fall with Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Bryant in the America East title game, its seventh league tourney championship.
[See below story for full NCAA Tournament bracket.]
Vermont and Iona have faced off four times previously. The most recent matchups are: A 3-1 Gaels win in 2019; a 2-0 Catamounts triumph in 2021. Vermont and Iona had three common opponents in 2024: Vermont defeated Fairfield and Bryant and tied Binghamton, while Iona lost to Bryant and Binghamton and drew with Fairfield.
Last year, Vermont cruised past Rider in a first-round game at Virtue Field. Vermont then beat Central Florida before losing to West Virginia in the Round of 16. Two years ago, the Catamounts advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1989, a run that started with an overtime victory at home over Quinnipiac.
Eighth-year UVM coach Rob Dow owns a program-record five NCAA Tournament victories.
The Catamounts have gone 7-1-1 over their last nine games and boast an unbeaten mark at Virtue Field (7-0-4). Yaniv Bazini and Maximilian Kissel, who scored the game-winner Sunday, pace Vermont with eigh goals each. Sydney Wathuta’s 12 assists rank second nationally and goalie Niklas Herceg sports a .79 goals-against average with a .810 save percentage.
The Gaels captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference crown on Sunday at home, dethroning Rider in a 1-0 overtime victory for the program’s second berth to the NCAA tourney.
The Vermont-Iona winner advances to play at Hofstra on Sunday afternoon for a second-round tilt.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
