MEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK
For the second straight season Vermont (11-5-2, 4-3-0 AE) will host the MAAC Tournament Champions in the NCAA First Round as they welcome Rider (12-3-4, 6-2-2 MAAC) to Virtue Field Thursday (Nov. 16). The opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan and Ben Marlow on the call. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office starting an hour before kickoff. All UVM Students are free with their CatCard.
 
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CATS IN THE TOURNAMENT
UVM's NCAA Tournament berth is its 13th in program history. The Catamounts are 7-11-2 and have advanced to the quarterfinals twice in program history last season and in 1989. Last year UVM bested Quinnipiac in the opening round, SMU on the road in the second round and UCLA in third round before falling to the eventual national champion Syracuse 2-1 in the quarterfinals. The 2022 Catamounts were the first team in program history to reach a fourth game in the NCAA Tournament. In 1989 Vermont beat UConn and Yale, before falling to Rutgers in the regional finals.
 
This is the first time in program history the Catamounts have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons. They are the third Vermont athletic program to do so. From 1992-94 the women's basketball team was the first program at UVM to complete the feat, the men's basketball team did so from 2003-05.
 
NEW HEIGHTS FOR AMERICA EAST
The America East is one of five conferences with three or more teams selected to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The three selections to the Tournament field are the most in a single season in conference history. The America East enters the NCAA Tournament with the fifth best conference RPI in the nation, trailing just the ACC, Pac-12, Sun Belt and Big Ten. In 2014, UMBC became the first America East program to advance to the College Cup, where it fell 1-0 to Virginia in the NCAA Semifinals.
 
DOW BECOMES THIRD HEAD COACH TO LEAD UVM TO THREE NCAA TOURNEYS
With the Catamounts third straight NCAA Tournament berth Head Coach Rob Dow becomes the third coach in program history to lead UVM to the NCAAs three or more times. Paul Reinhardt (1975, '77, '78, 1981) and Jesse Cormier (2007, '15, 16) also did so.
 
With the three wins last season in the tournament over Quinnipiac, SMU and UCLA Dow has the most in program history. Recently inducted UVM Hall of Fame Ron McEachen (1985-1995) and Cormier each advanced in the tournament twice during their tenure.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Catamounts are 5-1-0 all-time at home in the NCAA Tournament. UVM's only loss at home came in the 2021 First Round against Villanova. The Wildcats topped UVM 1-0. UVM's average margin of victory in its five home game wins has been two goals.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCS
Rider earned its NCAA Tournament berth by beating Iona 2-1 in the MAAC Championship on Sunday (Nov. 12). It was their sixth conference championship in program history. The Broncs are currently on a seven-game winning streak, tied for third longest in the nation with the America East Champions Bryant entering the tournament. Rider is 0-5-0 in NCAA Tournament history, they will seek their first-ever win Thursday night. The Broncs enter Thursday night's contest ranked No. 71 in the RPI.
 
Senior forward Babacar Diene leads a potent Broncs offensive attack, this season he has 12 goals and three assists for 27 points. He notched the game-winning goal against Iona in the conference championship. He has four game-winners this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Tomorrow night will be the second matchup in program history. Almost exactly seven years ago the Catamounts faced Rider in the NCAA First Round at Virtue Field on November 17, 2016. Second Team All-America Brian Wright '17 posted three goals and an assist as UVM defeated the Broncs 4-1 before a crowd of 2,058 fans. At the time, it was the Catamounts first NCAA Tournament win since 1989 (They advanced in PKs against Dartmouth in 2007).
 
LOCKERMANN NAMED AMERICA EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Nuremberg, Germany native Nick Lockermann became the seventh Catamount in program history to be named America East Rookie of the Year. He is the first Catamount to receive the honor since Daniel Pacella in the 2020-21 spring season. Lockermann posted a team-high seven assists in his rookie campaign, which ranked second in America East. The defender registered four helpers against league foes, which was also second in league play. Lockermann ranked third on the Catamounts in points (7).
 
ALL-CONFERENCE CATAMOUNTS
Eight Catamounts combined for 10 All-America East honors. Yaniv Bazini and Zach Barrett were named to the All-Conference First Team. Carter Johnson, Adrian Schulze Solano, and Jake Ashford received Second Team honors. Nick Lockermann, Sydney Wathuta, and Andrew Millar were named to the All-Rookie Team.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The winner of Thursday's contest will earn the right to face the 12-seed UCF on Sunday, November 19 at 6 p.m. The Sunday contest like the entire first and second round of the NCAA Tournament will air exclusively on ESPN+. UCF was 10-3-2 this season and 6-2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
New England Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's soccer