BURLINGTON, Vt. – No. 17 Vermont (9-2-5, 4-1-2 AE) begins postseason play Wednesday night as they host the three-seed UMBC (8-6-4, 4-2-1 AE) in the America East Semifinals. Action from Virtue Field is slated for 6 p.m. all of the action will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
 
RELATED LINKS
Buy Tickets
Watch on ESPN+
Live Stats
CatamounTV Press Conference: Coach Dow | Bazini | Wathuta
 
MAJOR AWARDS FOR THE CATAMOUNTS
Sydney Wathuta – AE Midfielder of the Year

• First Catamount in program history to receive this honor
• Leads the league and ranks third nationally with 11 assists.
• Helped the Catamounts rank first in goals per game (1.94) and scoring margin (1.1)

Zach Barrett – AE Defender of the Year

• Anchored a Catamount defense which gave up a league-low five goals in America East action.
• Third Catamount to be honored as Defender of the Year and first since Connor Tobin in 2008.
• Scored game-winning goal in 2-0 win over NJIT

AE Coaching Staff of the Year – Rob Dow, Brad Cole, Rory Twomey, Brendan Pulley & Mack Walton

• Led Catamounts to a share of the regular season title for the first time since 2019
• Led America East in goals with 31 and tied for first with +17 differential

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

• UMBC was 0-3-2 in the month of October and had conceded 11 goals over that span, then they defeated Vermont 1-0 on October 26 handing the Catamounts their only league loss of the campaign.
• UMBC is now on a four-game win streak (which began topping UVM at home) and hasn't conceded a goal over that span.
• Junior goalkeeper Emigdio Tormo Lopez is currently on a shutout streak of 395:38. In his four straight clean sheets he has made 15 saves, including five against Vermont on Oct. 26. He has eight shutouts this season, five against league opponents. His eight clean sheets are tied for fifth-best in the NCAA.
• Midfielder Joseph Picotto and forward Ryan Calheira are tied for the team lead with five goals for the Retrievers. Picotto scored the game-winner and only tally in UMBC's win over Vermont in October.
• The Retrievers defeated Binghamton 1-0 in America East Quarterfinal action on Saturday night to reach their first semifinal since 2021. The Bearcats had defeated UMBC in quarterfinal action on the road in 2023 and 2022.
• The Catamounts own an 11-8-1 record in the all-time series but have dropped three straight games to UMBC. Last season at Virtue Field UMBC topped UVM 2-1, Vermont is 6-3-1 in its last 10 matchups with the Retrievers.
• UMBC and Vermont have met twice before in the AE Semifinals. In 2014 UMBC bested UVM 3-1 at home on route to an America East Championship. The next year UVM returned the favor at Virtue Field with Bernard Yeboah '17 delivering a 2-1 overtime winner on the Catamounts' road to their fifth league title in 2015.

HOME PLAYOFFS

• The Catamounts are 11-9-3 all-time as the home team in the America East Tournament.
• UVM's last home playoff win came in the form of a 3-2 semifinal victory over No. 3 NJIT in 2021.
• The Catamounts are 10-10-1 all-time in the America East Semifinals. Under Head Coach Rob Dow UVM is 2-3-0 in the semifinals.
• Strange enough after winning three NCAA Tournament home games over the last two seasons UVM is just 1-4-1 at Virtue Field in the America East Tournament under Coach Dow.

CATAMOUNTS JUST KEEP ON ROLLING

• Since 2021 the Catamounts are 20-0-0 when scoring three or more goals.
• Vermont's current .719 winning percentage is 21st best in the NCAA.
• The Catamounts offense and depth has come through time and time again this season. UVM has scored 13 goals in the 76th minute or later and 10 goals in the 83rd minute or later this year.
• The Catamounts are a +17 in terms of goal differential this season, which is tied for first in America East (Bryant) and 17th in the NCAA.

For news and updates about the Vermont men's soccer program, follow @UVMmsoccer on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
 
EastRise Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont Soccer