MEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK
Fresh off its trip to Chicago, Vermont (1-1) will play a pair of teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in an extended weekend set. The Cats will host Iona (0-1-0) in the home opener on Friday (Sept. 6) at 7 p.m. then travel to Quinnipiac (0-1-1) on Monday (Sept. 9) for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
Fans can purchase tickets to Friday night's game at
UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office on gameday. Free live video will be available by clicking the links below.
RELATED LINKS
Iona: Video | Live Stats | Tickets
Quinnipiac: Video | Live Stats
CHICAGO CLASSIC RECAP
Vermont opened the season with two matches in the Windy City last weekend as a part of the Chicago Classic. The Cats suffered a 2-1 setback at Loyola Chicago before reaching the win column with a 1-0 victory at DePaul on Sunday. UVM had three players earn All-Tournament honors –
Adrian Gahabka,
Alex Nagy, and
Rasmus Tobinski.
WEEKLY CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Tobinski was named America East Rookie of the Week on Tuesday. The accolade is Tobinski's first career conference weekly award. He netted his first career goal, the eventual game-winner, in Sunday's 1-0 win over DePaul in the tournament finale. In the 51st minute, Tobinski put a shot on from distance but was denied by DePaul goaltender Drew Uelle. On an ensuing corner kick,
Evan Rouleau served a ball in and Tobinski headed it home for his first career collegiate goal.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Friday night's match is the second leg of a three-game season-opening road trip for the Gaels. Iona dropped its opener 2-1 at La Salle last Friday. Coming into the new year, the Gaels were picked sixth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Gaels return 15 players from a year ago including All-MAAC performer Malcolm Moreno and reigning conference Rookie of the Year Mauro Bravo. Moreno registered five points (1 goal, 3 assists) last season while Bravo boasted the second-most goals (4) and points (11) on the team.
The Bobcats sit at 0-1-1 on the year after two road contests – a 2-0 defeat at Boston College on Aug. 29 and a 2-2 draw at UMass Lowell on Monday. Quinnipiac is projected to finish second according to this year's MAAC preseason rankings and own the conference's Preseason Player of the Year – Eamon Whelan. Whelan was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, recognizing the top Division I men's soccer player, in July after leading the team in scoring last season with 30 points, 13 goals, and four assists. Jeppe Haehre also collected Preseason All-MAAC honors. Haehre started all 17 games in 2018 and helped anchor a defensive unit that only surrendered six goals during league play. Goalie Jared Mazzola has registered a 1.80 goals-against average with seven saves this season.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont and Iona will square off for the first time since 2005. The Catamounts beat the Gaels 1-0 in Burlington during the 2002 season but fell a year later 2-0 at the UNH Fall Classic. The Green and Gold avenged the loss with a 3-1 victory in 2005 in Durham, New Hampshire.
UVM and Quinnipiac will also end a brief hiatus. The Cats will be looking for their first win over the Bobcats as the non-conference foes will end a seven-year break. Quinnipiac took the first meeting 2-1 in 2009 then the two programs played to a 2-2 draw in 2012.
Able Paint Glass and Flooring is the presenting sponsor of the 2019 Vermont men's soccer season
