Vermont soccer’s hopes for a third straight America East tournament championship got absolutely _crushed_ yesterday, thanks to No. 3 Bryant pulling off a wild penalty shootout victory on the Catamounts’ own turf in the conference semifinals. Tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation and another 20 minutes of overtime, Bryant somehow pulled out a 4-3 triumph in penalty kicks, completely silencing the 2,245 fans at Virtue Field on Wednesday, November 11.
The Crushing Blow: How the Game Got Away
You have to feel for the Catamounts. They kicked off the scoring in the 52nd minute when a video review flipped a free kick into a penalty kick outside the Bryant box. Vermont’s leading scorer, David Ismail, didn’t waste it, firing home his eighth goal of 2026 right inside the right post. But less than ten minutes later, Bryant hit back with a devastating quick-strike attack. After a promising Vermont chance sputtered out, Bryant countered like lightning. Pablo Maya pushed a pass to Manuel Morillo, who just _flew_ around a Vermont defender, beating everyone, even two-time America East goalie of the year Niklas Herceg, for the touch finish and equalizer.
Vermont’s first-year coach, Adrian Dubois, was visibly frustrated by that goal. “It was too easy of a goal to concede,” he said, clearly disappointed. “We haven’t conceded easy goals all season long and disappointed we conceded it, but like everything we have to learn and grow and get better, hopefully for the NCAA Tournament.” You can feel the frustration there, right? Giving up an easy one like that just hurts different in a semifinal.
The Shootout Heartbreak and What’s Next
Then came the penalty shootout, and man, did it deliver heartbreak. For Bryant, Jorge Rodriguez, Nacho Vila, former Vermont player Marcos Blasco, and Nacho Garcia all put away clinical finishes to beat Herceg, who was playing in his first match since an October 24 loss at Albany. Vermont started strong with David Ismail converting his kick with poise. But then, disaster struck in the second round: Luis Fischer had his PK _denied_ by Bryant goalie Ramon Camejo, who ranged low to his right for a clutch one-handed block! Luis Vetter and Ezra Widman converted for Vermont, keeping them in it. But in the fifth round, Halim Bangura sailed his attempt well over the bar, sealing Bryant’s upset win. Just like that, the dream was over.
The Catamounts (10-2-5), who actually dropped out of the United Soccer Coaches’ top 25 poll two weeks ago but are still ranked 25th in the latest RPI, now have to sit and wait. Their automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament hangs in the balance, with the selection show coming up Monday, November 16, at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com. Coach Dubois is staying positive, though, saying, “Nothing really changes, just now we’re hungrier and we are more excited for some wins in the NCAA Tournament. I thought we had an incredible year. I hope we get an NCAA Tournament game in front of Virtue fans.”
For Bryant (12-2-5), this win is huge, their first-ever against Vermont in ten matchups all-time! They’re moving on and will now host No. 4 NJIT, who pulled off their own upset against top-seeded Albany in the other semifinal. Get ready for an America East final on Sunday, November 15, that won’t feature a No. 1 or No. 2 seed for the first time since 2001. Talk about chaos!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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