Vermont men's soccer buries UCLA to reach 2022 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals

Well before the 90 minutes were up, the University of Vermont men's soccer team proved the better side Saturday night against Pac-12 powerhouse UCLA.

The Catamounts walled off UCLA's attack. They controlled the midfield. They put pressure on UCLA's back line. They carved out brilliant, timely finishes.

The result in hand, all that was left was the celebration. And the final horn made that official, with one well-earned truth: The Catamounts are still dancing.

Behind a three-goal barrage in the second half, the Catamounts brushed aside UCLA 3-0 in a stunning team display in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,500 at Virtue Field during the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Vermont (16-3-2) advances to the quarterfinals for the second time in program history, joining the 1989 squad's run to the final eight teams.

Yaniv Bazini and Yves Borie scored on dazzling left-footed blasts in the 55th and 70th minutes, respectively, and Alex Nagy tucked away an insurance tally in the 86th minute to bury the Bruins (12-7-1). Vermont will play the winner of Syracuse-Cornell contest, which is scheduled for Sunday, in the next weekend's matchup to decide who makes the College Cup.

"This is a special group," UVM coach Rob Dow said "I hope people go home to their dining room tables and they are talking about UVM men’s soccer as a household name. It deserves to be there."

UVM's 2022 NCAA Tournament appearance, its 12th in program history and fourth since 2015, had encountered drama before Saturday night. In the opening round at home, the Catamounts forced a late equalizer and then won in double overtime to beat Quinnipiac 3-2. Then at SMU for the second round, the Cats fell behind 2-0 at the break before storming back with a three-goal second half to pull off the stunning triumph for another 3-2 decision.

"We are just focused on the next play. That’s the mentality you gotta have," Dow said. "You’re not worried about being 1-up, you’re not worried about being one down or two down — we just have to play well. And when this team plays well, plays together … no one is stopping us."

Vermont players celebrate with the fans after scoring the first goal of the game during their 3-0 win over UCLA in the sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night at Virtue Field.
Vermont players celebrate with the fans after scoring the first goal of the game during their 3-0 win over UCLA in the sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night at Virtue Field.

Against UCLA, the Catamounts didn't let a bevy of missed chances on quality looks over a scoreless first half spoil their mood or get them off course. Their aggressive transition attack created the opening tally, with a UCLA turnover and a quick give-and-go springing Bazini into a long run into the visitor's defensive third.

Bazini's first choice was to slide possession to Max Murray, the Catamounts' leading goal scorer who was tracking down the left wing. But Bazini's back pass was hit into a trio of UCLA defenders. Luckily for UVM, the deflection dropped to Bazini, who touched into space and unloaded a rocket from the edge of the 18 to the top left corner without a reaction from UCLA goalie Nate Crockford (three saves).

"I saw an opportunity to just take a touch, a clean opportunity to shoot," Bazini said. "I’m so happy that I could help. The result is everything that I could ask for."

Vermont's Yaniv Bazini (11) acknowledges the home crowd after scoring the games first goal during the Catamounts 3-0 win over UCLA in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night at UVM's Virtue Field.
Vermont's Yaniv Bazini (11) acknowledges the home crowd after scoring the games first goal during the Catamounts 3-0 win over UCLA in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night at UVM's Virtue Field.

About 15 minutes later, UVM earned a free kick from about 40 yards away from goal. UCLA failed to fully clear Alex Nagy's service and the ball fell to Borie into the box. Borie, who had the game-winner in the 2021 America East final at New Hampshire, offered up another elite strike. The senior midfielder stepped into a volley that dipped over the defense and glanced off the left post and bounced across the line for the 2-0 margin.

"Over the course of the year we’ve grown into our identity and just known that we have to grit out games," said UVM goalie Nate Silveira, who finished with two saves for the team's 11th shutout of 2022. "We have to play our game, execute our game plan and we’ll be alright. Our experience showed through."

Nagy, the overtime hero vs. Quinnipiac, polished off UVM's third three-goal game of their tournament run on a rebound tally from his own miss with 4:15 to go.

Vermont's Yves Borie (center) soaks it all in after his spectacular volley found the back of the net and gave the Catamounts a 2-0 lead during their 3-0 win over UCLA in the sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night at Virtue Field.
Vermont's Yves Borie (center) soaks it all in after his spectacular volley found the back of the net and gave the Catamounts a 2-0 lead during their 3-0 win over UCLA in the sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night at Virtue Field.

UVM, which out-shot UCLA 14-7, used a tactical substitution pattern to wear down the Bruins. Borie, Mujtaba Mirhasan and Daniel Pacella rotated in the midfield. Forwards Murray, Bazini, Matt Black and Jacob Vitale took turns pressing UCLA's defense. And midfielders Adrian Schulze Solano and Joe Morrison and defenders Garrett Lillie and Noah Egan played all 90 minutes; center back Zach Barrett logged every minute but one.

"We knew our opponent had a lot of miles on their legs and we wanted to keep things fresh within our team and continue to put pressure on them," Dow said. "We had to make them uncomfortable with the ball and our forwards did that."

After a disappointing exit in the America East semifinals, a 1-0 defeat to Albany, UVM has put it all together to make good on their season-long mission.

"It’s unreal. Guys like me, coming from where we started, to seeing how this program has developed over the years .. it means so much to me, it means so much to the other guys," Silveira said. "We want to make sure when we leave here we leave a legacy of Vermont soccer being on top."

During preseason training at Jay Peak, talk of competing for a national championship was mentioned. Dow and players spoke openly about that goal since August. Now, they're two wins shy of making it a reality.

"You have to, you have to dream big. This team deserves to dream big," Dow said.

Feature from October:How UVM men's soccer turned into a nationally ranked program

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

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This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: NCAA men's soccer tournament: Vermont blanks UCLA in Sweet 16