FINAL SCORE (OT): #2 Vermont 2, New Hampshire 1
BURLINGTON, Vt. – David Ismail tallied the equalizing goal in the 85th minute while Maximilian Kissel scored the game-winning goal 7:43 into overtime on a snowy Wednesday night from Virtue Field as the No. 2 Vermont Catamounts (13-0-5) defeated the four-seed New Hampshire Wildcats (5-8-5) 2-1 in overtime in the America East Semifinals, punching a ticket to their second straight America East Championship match.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
CatamounTV Highlights
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Great job by UNH, heck of a performance by them, tough that they're ending their season, but they have a lot to be proud of," said Head Coach Rob Dow. "How about our fans, unbelievable, we're so thankful. We didn't get enough balls in their box, and you saw when we did, we scored goals. And Kissel had to do it again in Kissel-time. Everything sounded about right tonight."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• New Hampshire opened scoring in the ninth minute when Matteo Piccardo picked the top right corner, scoring his second goal of the season to earn the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage. It was the first time the Catamounts trailed in a match since September 9 when they welcomed Dartmouth to Virtue Field.
• In the 26th minute, it looked like the Wildcats were bound to strike again when Elias Khodri broke free on an offensive rush all alone with only Niklas Herceg between him and the goal. Herceg came out to play, making himself as big as possible as Khodri unleashed a shot, but Herceg denied Khodri with his left leg, sending the ball out of harm's way to negate any extra damage.
• The Catamounts saw a prime scoring opportunity in the 36th minute of action when a misplaced ball by New Hampshire in the box resulted in Philipp Kühn finding himself with a beautiful look on net, but Scott Williams stood his ground, making his second save of the match to keep New Hampshire ahead by one goal.
• Vermont was dominating time of possession the entire second half, but Williams was standing tall, making seven total saves throughout the first 35 minutes in just the second half alone.
• The Catamounts broke through in the 85th minute, displaying textbook Cardiac Cat mentality. Ryan Zellefrow took the kick from a set piece near center field, finding the head of Marcos Blasco who placed the ball towards Kissel standing right in front of the net. Instead of shooting, Kissel dropped a pass to a wide-open David Ismail, burying a left footed shot to the top right corner, scoring his ninth goal of the season and ultimately knotting the score at 1-1 with less than five minutes of regulation remaining. The contest was pushed to overtime.  
• As Virtue Field was buzzing, the Catamounts did it again, scoring the golden goal in the 98th minute of play in overtime, seeing Andrew Millar feed a cross to the box. Williams was able to get a hand on it, but Ismail was there to head the ball towards Kissel who wasted no time punching in his fifth goal of the season, scoring the overtime winner to send Vermont to their second straight America East championship match, defeating New Hampshire 2-1 from Virtue Field in the Semifinal match.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kissel recorded one goal and one assist on Wednesday, the fourth time in his Catamount career scoring a goal and an assist in the same match.
• Ismail also registered one goal and one assist for Vermont, the second time this season doing so. Ismail has nine points in his last three matches, scoring four goals and tallying one assist.
• Ismail notched a match-high four shots on goal.
• Ismail, Blasco, Zellefrow, Omar Robbana, and Rui Aoki played all 98 minutes during the Semifinal match against New Hampshire.
• Herceg made four crucial saves.
• Vermont out shot UNH 29-7, including 19-1 in the second half. UVM had 12 total shots on goal to New Hampshires five.
• The Catamounts had 11 corner kicks to the Wildcats one.
• UVM advances to their second straight America East Championship match.
• With today's Win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to the Lund Family Center through the Cat's Win, Community Win's initiative. Vermont Mutual has donated over $5 Million Dollars since launching their Charitable Giving Fund in 2014.

 
UP NEXT
Following the America East Semifinal overtime win over four-seed New Hampshire, the Catamounts prepare for their second straight America East Championship match, hosting No. 5 Bryant during the 2025 America East Championship scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 16) from Virtue Field. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Brian McLaughlin on the call.
 

2025 AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP TICKET INFORMATION
Victory Club members, Men's Soccer Alumni, Sponsors and Cats Pride Club members with applicable postseason ticket access have until midnight Thursday evening to request tickets via a link that will be emailed out.
 
Any season ticket holders who have not yet completed the application (click here) for championship tickets must fill out the application (click here) by midnight Thursday evening. Those who have already completed the process are all set — your card will be charged accordingly, and tickets will be sent electronically.
 
There will be a public on-sale at noon on Friday, November 14. General Admission tickets for adults are $18 and youth are $13. UVM Student tickets are being provided free courtesy the UVM President's Office, students can claim a ticket following the usual regular season process.
 
 
 For news and updates about the Vermont men's soccer program, follow @UVMmsoccer on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.

East Rise Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont soccer.