The Vermont men’s soccer team earned a 2-1 win against Marshall on Monday night to win its first national championship in program history. The Catamounts were able to secure the national title in very dramatic fashion.
Vermont’s Maximilian Kissel managed to avoid an attempted Marshall sliding tackle from Alex Bamford on a long outlet pass, and found himself with only goalkeeper Aleksa Janjic to beat. Kissel ended up dribbling his way into the box and scoring the game-winning goal in sudden death overtime to win for Vermont.
Kissel immediately ripped off his jersey to celebrate and was mobbed by his teammates following the iconic goal. It marked the ninth national title game decided in overtime or on penalty kicks in the 21st century.
Vermont, who posted a 16-2-6 record throughout the year, became the first Catamounts team to win a national championship in a team sport. In addition, the Catamounts became the first America East team to ever win a national championship game in a team sport.
Meanwhile, Marshall had been in the spotlight before as the Thundering Herd won the men’s soccer national championship back in 2020.
Vermont was trailing 1-0 in the second half when Marcell Papp tied the game at 1-1 in the 81st minute on an assist from teammate David Ismail. The goal occurred thanks to a Marshall turnover in its own end of the field.
Kissel had a chance to give Vermont a 2-1 advantage in the 85th minute after being all alone on a breakaway. However, Janjic was able to make a diving save and deflect the ball wide of the post.
