FINAL SCORE: Vermont 3, SMU 2
DALLAS – Garrett Lillie's 86th-minute tally capped off a second-half comeback as Vermont (15-3-2, 5-1-1 AE) rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat 11th-seeded SMU (10-6-1, 6-3 AAC) 3-2 in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night at Washburne Stadium. The Catamounts advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1989.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"I want to congratulate Kevin Hudson on his program," head coach Rob Dow said. "He's got a great team. A lot of young talent that are gonna have some really great years coming up. In regards to us, you know, I felt like we probably gave them a little too much respect from the beginning of the game, which was evident from the from the score. And we talked about some certain things at halftime that were going to put us in better positions to attack and put more pressure, and a big thing was, that SMU's wingers 21 and 16 were really dangerous. We needed to get them to defend and get them out to higher spots, and that was our plan going into the second half. But bottom line, when you talk about coming back, scoring three goals in the second half, being down two. That's a lot of courage."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mustangs struck early in the fifth minute when Knut Ahlander stole the ball in the midfield and quickly countered. Ahlander then found Alexander Petraeus to his right where he fired a shot into the lower left corner for the early 1-0 lead.
• Bailey Sparks doubled the SMU lead in the 32nd minute when he split a pack of UVM defenders inside the 18-yard box, and sent a shot past Nate Silveira (1 save) to go up 2-0. Petreaeus was credited with the secondary assist.
• Silveira would make a key save in the 38th minute, diving to his right to deny a shot by Harvey Castro that was labeled for the lower left corner. The UVM goalkeeper was able to get a hand on the ball and deflect it wide to prevent the Mustangs from going up 3-0 before the break.
• Vermont went on the attack from the start of the second half, but it was SMU who had the first scoring chance when Frederik Skilberg directed a shot in the 48th minute that forced Silveira to dive to his left and come up with a save. Sebastian Gebhart had the first UVM chance of the half minutes later when he fired a shot from about 25 yards out that whistled just right of Bram Kaarsgaren (3 saves).
• Max Murray finally got the Catamounts on the scoresheet, cutting the deficit to 2-1 in the 65th minute. The junior converted on a rebound after Adrian Schulze Solano and Joe Morrison both fired shots inside the 18-yard box.
• Murray scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at 2-2 in the 80th minute. Alex Nagy helped set up the tying goal in the 80th minute when he fired a shot from long range that forced Kaarsgaren to dive to his right and deflect the ball out of bounds. Murray converted on the ensuing corner, banging home a rebound. Lillie assisted on the equalizer when his header clanked the right post and found Murray.
• Lillie netted the game-winner when he tracked down a cross at the top of the 18-yard box and snuck a sliding kick into the lower right corner for his second goal of the season. Nagy assisted on the clinching tally by delivering a cross to Lillie.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Lillie's winner sends the Catamounts to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the historic 1989 season. The 2022 Cats can become the first team in program history to advance past the Third Round with a victory in its next match.
• The win total of 15 for Vermont this season is the second-highest total in program history, behind only the 1989 squad's 19 wins.
• The two-goal outing for Murray is his second of the season. The Kennebunkport, Maine native converted on both shots taken against the Mustangs.
• Lillie's three-point game is his first since Nov. 13, 2019. It is the third three-point outing of his Vermont career. 
• With today's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since the campaigns inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $72,000 to local non-profits.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts will return home to Virtue Field on Saturday (Nov. 26) to host UCLA in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET. Tickets will be available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets. Saturday's game will broadcast live on ESPN+. Visit UVMathletics.com and follow @UVMmsoccer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more updates.
 
Able Paint Glass & Flooring is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's soccer