Bernard Yeboah Profile

Danielle Goglia and Somer Brown

The men’s soccer team refuses to lose this season. With 11 games under their belt, the Catamounts have fought hard to earn a record of 7-1-3. Part of the reason for the men’s success this season is their new powerhouse, first-year Bernard Yeboah.

Yeboah came to UVM from Worcester, Mass. Before Vermont he played for South High Community where he was named a NSCAA high school All-American in 2012. Yeboah scored 22 goals in 18 games as a SHC Colonel.

Yeboah also attended Worcester Academy for a post-graduate year, where he was a two-time captain for the men’s soccer team.

“Prep school helped a lot,” Bernard said. “It gave me an extra year to get better. Prep school is a lot better than public school, at least in soccer.”

Yeboah earned WNPESSA All-Star honors two times in his career at Worcester scoring 38 goals in 42 games. Now this talented athlete proudly wears green-and-gold and has already racked up six points and five starts as a Cat.

The young athlete made a name for himself at the collegiate level after his performance Sept. 18 againts Hofstra. This was only the second start of Yeboah’s career with the Cats and he led the team to the 2-1 victory. Yeboah scored both goals for Vermont and as a result he was named America East Rookie of the Week.

“It took me like four games to get up to par with kids at the D1 level,” Yeboah said. “A lot of the kids here are more developed, physical-wise, so I had a tough time when I came here.”

Yeboah learned that college soccer was much different than anything he had ever done before but nonetheless he learned to adjust his playing style and find success.

“Coach was like, ‘if you work hard, trust me, it’ll come.’ I realized that if I just focus on the simple things and work hard, it’d come to me. And it did,” Yeboah said.

Head Coach Jesse Cormier described Bernard Yeboah as “the whole package.” When looking for players Cormier looks for players who excite him, the team, the fans and the school. Bernard certainly did the trick during the recruiting process with combination of excellent qualities.

“[In the Hofstra game] he got an opportunity in the rotation and took advantage of it,” Cormier said. “He was fearless.”

Cormier also highly commended Yeboah’s attitude on and off the field. On the field he described the athlete’s playing style as “engaging,” “powerful” and “explosive.” Yeboah’s flawless technique in small spaces and creativity on the field allows him to have limitless scoring opportunities.

It is hard to believe that this talented athlete did not play in an organized soccer league until he was 14 years old. Yeboah’s family roots lie within Ghana but in the 1980s there was a migration of the Ghanaian people to Italy. Because of this Yeboah was born and raised in Brescia, Italy until he was 12 years of age.

“I hadn’t played organized soccer until I was, like, 14. It’s all pickup in Italy. I got noticed from a club team, and then in high school, sophomore year, I started taking it seriously.”

“I grew up playing soccer and then I moved to the United States. I kept playing ’cause that’s the only sport I had played in Italy. That’s how I started playing soccer, and I moved here when I was about twelve years old and I just stuck with it.”

Yeboah idolizes Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovi?. Ibrahimovi? is a striker for the Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team. Yeboah admires Ibrahimovi?’s “nose-for-the-net” and his play style.12