BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont (14-2-5) has advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second time in the last three seasons and will face the two-seed Pittsburgh (14-5-0) Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. from Ambrose Urbanic Field in downtown Pittsburgh. Tickets for Saturday's contest are still available at go.uvm.edu/qtrpitt. The UVM Alumni Association is inviting fans to a pregame tailgate in the parking lot beginning at 1:30 p.m. from the Pitt OC Lot. All the action will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
RELATED LINKS
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CatamounTV Preview: Coach Dow | Bazini | Zellefrow
Photos: Friday Practice | Patrick Gym Sendoff | Pittsburgh Arrival | 12/5 Practice
Watch Live – ESPN+
Live Stats
NCAA Tournament Bracket
 
WATCH PARTY AT NECTAR'S
The Vermont Athletic Department will be hosting a Watch Party at Nectar's Restaurant in downtown Burlington (188 Main St.). Doors will open at 2:45 p.m. Free food including quesadillas, fries, gravy fries, flatbreads and chicken tenders will be served. Green and Gold beads, tattoos and stickers will also be available so you can show your Catamount pride Saturday evening. There will also be raffle prizes for those in attendance, including a $50 Nectar's Gift Card, two rinkside seats to Saturday's Vermont/LIU Men's Hockey game, an 802 hat, mini UVM Soccer ball and a season pass to Smugglers' Notch Resort.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP

• The Panthers entered the NCAA Tournament having lost four of their last six matches but earned the two-seed as the only team in the country with six or more Quad 1 wins.
• Pitt defeated Cornell in the Second Round of the tournament 1-0, despite playing most of the match with 10 men.
• Last weekend they topped Kansas City 3-2 in overtime in a back-and-forth thriller at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Sophomore forward Albert Thorsen notched the golden goal in the 98th minute with his seventh strike of the season. He has four game-winners this season.
• Senior forward Luis Sahmkow leads the Panthers in scoring this season with nine goals and three assists for 21 points.
• Under Head Coach Jay Vidovich, Pitt is now 12-4-1 in NCAA Tournament games, including a 7-1-0 ledger at home.
• The Panthers have reached the round of 16 in five of the last six seasons and will be making their fourth national quarterfinal appearance in the last five years Saturday.
• Since 2019 (six seasons), Pitt owns a 59-3-3 overall record when they record the first goal of the match.
• Pitt has reached the College Cup twice in program history, in the spring of 2021 (COVID-19) and 2022. They fell to Indiana in the semifinals both times.
• Pitt is 1-2-0 against America East teams in program history, all three matches were home games. In 2007 Pitt fell 1-0 to Binghamton, the following year UAlbany won at Pitt 2-1. In their most recent matchup with an AE opponent the Panthers topped Stony Brook 1-0 in 2011. All three matchups were under former Head Coach Joe Luxbacher. 

CATAMOUNTS THRIVE LATE-LY IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Over the last four years the Catamounts have played in 11 NCAA Tournament games.
• Over the last three seasons Vermont is tied with Indiana with eight NCAA wins as the most in the country.
• In the first half of NCAA games UVM is tied 8-8 with their opponents over the last four years. In the second half UVM has outscored its opponents 14-5.
• Vermont has played three overtime games over the last three years and won all three (vs. Quinnipiac, at UCF, at San Diego) maintaining a 3-0 edge in those games.
• The Catamounts are one of four teams (UVM, UMass, Denver & Marshall) left in the Tournament to have never trailed in the 2024 NCAAs.

HERCEG SHINING AS CATAMOUNTS' STARTER

• First year goaltender Niklas Herceg has the best save percentage in the NCAA at .842.
• He matched a career-high with seven saves in Vermont's 1-0 overtime win over San Diego in the NCAA Third Round.
• In the 2024 NCAA Tournament he has kept two clean sheets, while making 14 saves. His goals-against average is 0.33 and save percentage is .933.
• He is 10-1-2 this season for Vermont.
• He has only conceded more than one goal once, in his first collegiate start on October 1 against UMass.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• UVM's NCAA Tournament berth is its 14th in program history. The Catamounts are 12-12-2 and have advanced to the quarterfinals three times in program history; in 2022 and 2024 under Coach Dow and in 1989.
• The Catamounts are 7-1-0 all-time at home in the NCAA Tournament. UVM's only loss at home came in the 2021 First Round against Villanova.
• With the Catamounts fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth Head Coach Rob Dow becomes the second coach in program history to lead UVM to the NCAAs four times along with Paul Reinhardt (1975, '77, '78, 1981).
• The Catamounts are the first Vermont athletic program to make four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
• From 1992-94 the women's basketball team made three straight appearances and was the first program at UVM to complete the feat. The men's basketball team did so from 2003-05 and 2022-2024.
• Senior forward Yaniv Bazini is the all-time program leader in NCAA Tournament goals with eight and points with 17.
• Graduate defender Zach Barrett Barrett has played in 11 NCAA Tournament games at UVM and is the program leader in NCAA Tournament minutes with 1,025. No other UVM player has played more than 790 minutes.

CATAMOUNTS JUST KEEP ON ROLLING

• Since 2021 the Catamounts are 21-0-0 when scoring three or more goals.
• Vermont's current .786 winning percentage is tied for third best in the NCAA.
• The Catamounts offense and depth has come through time and time again this season. UVM has scored 18 goals in the 76th minute or later and 14 goals in the 83rd minute or later this year.
• The Catamounts are a +26 in terms of goal differential this season, which is first in America East and tied for sixth best in the NCAA.

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 second nationally with 14 assists.
• Helped the Catamounts rank first in goals per game (1.94) and scoring margin (1.1) in America East play. 

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 

WHAT'S NEXT

• The winner of Saturday's contest will advance to the 2024 College Cup in Cary, North Carolina. National Semifinal matches from Cary will be on Friday, December 13 and will air nationally on ESPNU at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The winner between Pitt and UVM will face the winner of Saturday's UMass/No. 3 Denver match.

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