FINAL SCORE:  #17 Vermont 2, Bryant 1
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Maximilian Kissel's clutch 86th-minute tally was the clinching goal as #17 Vermont (11-2-5, 4-1-2 AE) defeated Bryant (10-6-4, 4-3-0 AE) 2-1, securing its seventh America East Championship in program history. The Catamounts have now won the conference title for the second time in four years, and for the second time under head coach Rob Dow.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
CatamounTV: Highlights | Celebration Extra
Photo Gallery
Postgame: Coach Dow
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Following a scoreless first half seeing Vermont hold Bryant to zero shots on net, the Catamounts saw a prime scoring opportunity in the 50th minute when Andrew Millar corralled a pass from Yaniv Bazini just inside the goalie box, electing to fire a shot to the bottom left corner of the net, but Bryant's goaltender was there to make the save, keeping the match scoreless at 0-0.
• A massive diving save from Niklas Herceg in the 57th minute halted an offensive push from Bryant, using one hand to punch Marc Bayot's shot low center out of harm's way, maintaining the knotted score, 0-0.
• Vermont opened scoring in the 69th minute, seeing Sydney Wathuta send a cross to Max Murray, heading the ball to a wide-open Marcell Papp, sniping a shot to the bottom right corner earning the Catamounts the 1-0 lead with just over 20 minutes of gametime remaining. 
• Bryant bounced back, scoring in the 82nd minute to equalize the match at 1-1 with less than nine minutes of action remaining.
• Just as it looked overtime was bound to happen, in the 86th minute of play, Jeremy Tsang placed a corner kick perfectly on the head of Kissel, pinning his header to the bottom left corner to put Vermont ahead 2-1 with just minutes of regulation remaining.
• The Catamounts tamed the Bulldogs for the remainder of regulation, capturing their seventh America East Championship, being named the 2024 America East Men's Soccer Champions. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Sunday's America East Championship was played in front of a sold out crowd of 2,400 fans at Virtue Field.
• Vermont will be making its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, marking the first time in program history. UVM has advanced to at least the Third Round in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments.
• Four Catamounts were named to the All-Championship Team: Herceg, Bazini, Adrian Schulze Solano, and Zach Barrett. The Most Outstanding Player honor was awarded to Zach Barrett.
• Vermont's Karl Daly was recognized as the winner of the Elite 18 award for having the highest GPA of any player in Sunday's championship. The junior Business Administration major owns a 3.86 GPA.
• Papp scored his fourth goal of the season, tallying the opening goal of the match to go along with two total shots on goal.
• Maximillian Kissel registered the game-winning goal in the 86th minute of action, securing his eighth goal of the season, tied for the team-high.
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Vermont Children's Trust Foundation as part of the Cats Wins, Community Wins Initiative.

UP NEXT
Vermont will make its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after securing a berth with the America East Championship win. The Catamounts will find out who their opponent is on Monday (Nov. 18) in the NCAA Selection Show, scheduled to air at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com.

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