UVM men’s soccer to host Quinnipiac in NCAA first round

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The UVM men’s soccer team is dancing yet again. Vermont was selected to the 48-team field for the upcoming NCAA Tournament Monday afternoon, earning a first round home game for the second consecutive season.

Vermont will open the tournament Thursday night at Virtue as they battle Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. This will be the second time the Catamounts and Bobcats have squared off this year, QU emerging with a stunner of a 2-0 win in Burlington back in August, a game which UVM head coach Rob Dow missed due to COVID and star midfielder Alex Nagy sat while nursing an injury.

That result served as a springboard for the Cats, as their motivation drove them to a twelve-game unbeaten run that ultimately paved their way into just the second at-large NCAA Tournament bid in school history. UVM is looking forward to their shot at revenge.

“Over the past season, we’ve highlighted that game and been like, that’s really a game that we wish we could have gotten back,” fifth year goalkeeper Nate Silveira said. “I know there were a lot of things working against us, but that’s not necessarily an excuse in the end. It’s best case scenario for us and what we wanted to achieve and who we wanted to play because nothing’s better than having a second crack at a team that took you guys out in the first half of the year in the highest stage there is. We’re very excited about that.”

“Quinnipiac has some Vermont Green players on the team and there were several people out for that game,” Dow added. “It’s a game we lost so we’re excited to use that as motivation.”

Copyright 2022 WCAX. All rights reserved.