The Catamounts are not underdogs- they will be the first to tell you that. Instead, this team believes this College Cup run is the expected outcome of years of hard work forged in surviving the treacherous America East conference and embracing a community obsessed with the program. Vermont is for Vermont, the perfect representation of a state that is often an afterthought but a hidden gem to those who pay attention.

That attention to detail reveals the Catamounts have the most NCAA tournament wins (9) of any program in the last three years, have reached the Elite Eight twice in that span, and are enjoying their 10th consecutive winning season. This success is not unexpected, Rob Dow has ensured it, consistently building a formula that can compete with the best in the America East and the country.

“The vision was set by UMBC back in 2014, they made it to the College Cup as well, Pete Caringi and his group. There are great coaches in our league. Our conference tournament where we played UMBC and then Bryant in the final, those two games were some of our toughest . . . They got us prepared for this time of the year.”

That preparation allowed the America East champions the experience and quality needed to win three consecutive away matches to reach the College Cup. And with one success after another, the community has bought into what Dow and his team are accomplishing, something assistant coach Brad Cole, a Vermont native and program alumni, holds in high regard. 

“Every person in the state is a fan of Vermont. We’re the only place that I know of where we are the only Division 1 school in the state, and the name of the program is the state . . . Our guys have a very different experience here than people at other programs because they get recognized in town. I was walking my dog this morning, and people recognized me. It is a different experience.”

Vermont holds just over 630 thousand people, ranking 49th of 50 states, and the Catamounts are on the verge of bringing that close-knit community its first national title.

Ten Key Moments:

9/2/2024 - Defeats San Diego State for first victory of the year after starting the season with three consecutive road games.

9/21/2024 - 5-0 victory over Fairfield is followed by 5-0 victory over Harvard, marking the first time in program history where the team earned back-to-back five goal shutout wins.

10/1/2024 - 6 foot 6 Freshman goalkeeper Niklas Herceg makes collegiate debut in 2-2 draw versus Massachusetts, would go on to be an award winning talent.

10/17/2024 - Yaniv Bazini comes in as the No. 100 ranked player in the TDS Midseason Player Rankings.

11/5/2024 - Mike Bleeker 88th minute equalizer versus Binghamton secures share of America East conference title with New Hampshire.

11/12/2024 - America East awards are announced and Sydney Wathuta is named Midfielder of the Year, while Zach Barrett is Defender of the Year. Rob Dow and assistants win Coaching Staff of the Year. Wathuta, Barrett, and Yaniv Bazini make the First Team. Maximilian Kissel, Max Murray, and Niklas Herceg make the second team. Herceg and Ryan Zellefrow receive All-Rookie recognition.

11/17/2024 - Defeats Bryant 2-1 to win America East tournament title for seventh time and first since 2021.

11/21/2024 - Defeats Iona 5-0 in NCAA tournament first round to finish home slate an undefeated 8-0-4.

11/24/2024 - David Ismail wins game versus Hofstra with a goal that goes viral around the world.

12/7/2024 - Defeats Pittsburgh in third consecutive NCAA tournament road game to reach first College Cup.

Ten Key Statistics:

• Yaniv Bazini has second most goals of any player in College Cup (13)

• 15 wins are second most in the country

• Maximilian Kissel (10) and Yaniv Bazini (13) both have double digit goals

• Sydney Wathuta is second in the country with 14 assists

• 14 different goal scorers

• Nine shutouts are third most in the country

• 10 - 1 NCAA tournament goal differential

• Won 70 percent of away matches

• Has scored in 21 of 22 games

• 7 of 11 starters are seniors or older