In one of the most critical stretches of the season, the men’s soccer team was put through an Oct. 3, 7, 14 and 17 road trip gauntlet.
Playing against familiar opponents UConn, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Binghamton and Dartmouth, Vermont headed back home with a road trip record of 3-1 and is now looking to make a late-season push for the number one spot in the America East.
The Cats started their road trip in Connecticut, where they proved to be too much for the Huskies. Vermont was incredibly efficient, scoring two goals on just four shots. Vermont redshirt junior Yaniv Bazini struck first in the 31st minute for his fifth goal of the season.
UConn had a couple of opportunities immediately following the Catamount goal but failed to equalize. Senior midfielder Carter Johnson put the nail in the coffin with a penalty kick goal in the 78th minute. The 2-0 win was goalkeeper Owen Jack’s sixth clean sheet of the season–ranking him third in the country.
Later in the week, Vermont traveled to Newark to take on NJIT in a crucial conference matchup. The game was a defensive battle from the opening whistle, with just five combined shots fired in the opening half.
NJIT broke the tie with a goal in the 58th minute. Even while firing six shots in the second half, Vermont could not find the back of the next. One goal was all NJIT needed to beat Vermont and send them to second in the conference standings.
The next stop was Binghamton, New York, where the Catamounts squared off with another America East opponent at Binghamton University. Vermont was eager to get back in the win column and continue their push to the top of the America East and up the national rankings, as they came out firing.
UVM fired 18 total shots in the game, including a four-goal second half. Bazini and Johnson scored their second goals of the trip, along with senior forward Max Murray, senior defenseman Zach Barrett and first-year forward Sydney Wathuta all getting in on the action. Jack registered his seventh shutout of the season and second in three matches.
In the final leg of the trip the Cats took on Dartmouth—a team they had beaten just twice since 2010. Bazini found the back of the net early with a goal in the ninth minute. Dartmouth scored the equalizer later in the half, sending the game into halftime as a draw.
Vermont rattled off nine shots in the second half alone, but it was not until senior Max Murray put the Catamounts back up in the 77th minute, which is all Vermont needed.
With the regular season wrapping up on Oct. 31, the road trip record of 3-1 might prove to be a difference-maker come playoff time.
Bazini received NCAA Division-I Player of the Week and America East Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors during the two-week span as he looks to lead the Catamount charge back to the NCAA tournament.
