The Vermont men’s soccer team earned a 2-1 victory against Marshall on Monday night to win its first national championship in program history. The Catamounts won the national title in a very spectacular way.
Vermont’s Maximilian Kissel managed to avoid a Marshall sliding tackle attempt from Alex Bamford on a long 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 shirt in celebration and was mobbed by his teammates after the iconic goal. It was the ninth national title game decided by overtime or penalty kicks in the 21st century.
Vermont, which posted a 16-2-6 record all year, became the first Catamounts team to win a national championship in a team sport. Additionally, the Catamounts became the first America East team to win a national championship in a team sport.
Meanwhile, Marshall had been in the spotlight before when the Thundering Herd won the men’s soccer national championship in 2020.
Vermont trailed 1-0 in the second half when Marcell Papp tied the game 1-1 in the 81st minute on an assist from teammate David Ismail. The goal came thanks to a turnover by Marshall in his own area of the field.
Kissel had a chance to give Vermont a 2-1 lead in the 85th minute after being left alone on a breakaway. However, Janjic was able to make a save and deflect the ball wide of the post.
