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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
With a second championship in sight and Bernie Sanders' support, Vermont is the US soccer state of the moment
A silence fell on Virtue Field. Owen O'Malley stepped up, kissed the ball, and prepared to take Vermont Green's fifth penalty in a shootout. The outcome of that spot kick could decide the winner of the USL League Two semi-final against Dothan United in the fourth tier of American soccer. The moment of quiet was in stark contrast to the buzz that has gathered around this team in 2025, but the silence was soon broken as O'Malley coolly rolled his spot-kick down the middle. The back of the net rippled, and the celebrations in the stands spilled on to the field. A sold-out crowd of 2,700 supporters had packed into Virtue Field at the University of Vermont in Burlington for the game. That was the official attendance, anyway. Many more found a perch wherever they could around the ground. Related: The Cosmos return – with a new home, new league and old ideals The club estimates that it could have sold at least 15,000 tickets, and demand is even greater for Saturday's final, which will be played at Virtue Field against Seattle's own gem of a lower league side, Ballard FC. As soon as tickets went on sale on Wednesday morning, the match sold out. The game is being shown on local TV as well as being streamed online, and there are numerous watch parties taking place across the state. Others might still find a way to be there in person. 'There's a grassy hill behind the north goal that's got hundreds, if not thousands, of fans on it now,' says Matthew Wolff, who founded the club alongside Sam Glickman and Patrick Infurna. 'Over the last two matches, we've had fans standing on the base of the scoreboard outside the stadium, fans that have brought ladders around the stadium, sitting on top of sheds and shipping containers, standing on top of porta-potties. Someone was sitting on top of a pull-up bar attached to the back of a garage to watch the penalty shootout in the last match!' During the semi-final, commentator Brian McLaughlin described Burlington as 'the soccer city of the moment.' It's a bold statement, but one that doesn't feel inaccurate, even though Vermont Green is a fourth-tier team that was only founded in 2021. It is an amateur side heavily linked to the college game, not least through its home stadium, but also its playing personnel and fan culture. The University of Vermont Catamounts men's team, who play at the same stadium, won the NCAA national championship against the odds and in thrilling fashion in 2024. The team can count Bernie Sanders among its supporters, and the US senator spoke of Vermont's newfound status as a soccer state. 'I think I speak for the whole state in congratulating the Vermont Green on the extraordinary season that they've had,' he said. 'It is really incredible that for a small state, we have now become one of the leading centers of soccer in the United States.' The ethos of Vermont Green, and other clubs like it at various levels in various leagues – Detroit City (USL Championship), Kingston Stockade (The League For Clubs), and New York International (APSL) are among those regularly mentioned in these conversations – shows that within the closed structure of US soccer, it is less about the division in which you play and more about what you do as a club, not just in a league, but in a community, too. 'We're really happy with USL League Two,' says Infurna. 'We really love our league and the people that run it. Our relationship with them is fantastic, but ultimately, you're only in your league when you're playing soccer, and these clubs exist a lot outside of those 90 minutes. 'We believe in focusing on your community and your club, what and who you are. Nobody in Vermont thinks of Vermont Green as a fourth division club in a small town. Everyone thinks of us as the biggest club in Vermont. In a non-merit-based system, you can't really have a hierarchy of leagues; you've just got to be what you are, and you have to be full-throated about that. It's shedding that hierarchy.' Related: Does US soccer really need four first divisions? The answer isn't necessarily 'no' When encountering a team like Vermont Green, it's difficult to ignore the topic of promotion and relegation. This is one of the most well-run and keenly supported teams in the country; one with an identity that has grown organically with the club, and which is intertwined with the community that supports it. Ever-increasing support has seen the club outgrow its current home to the point where it will consider possible next steps, which might include working with the University to expand Virtue Field or finding a new stadium. It feels like a club that would be primed for promotion. USL has put forward plans for promotion and relegation between its Championship and League One divisions, and a proposed new first division pencilled in for 2027, but as of yet, there are no plans to open up this to its League Two semi-pro/amateur level. So what does progress look like for a soccer club in this situation?. 'For me, the metrics for growth and progress have been seeing how many people in the community are aware of the club,' says Tyler Littwin, who runs the club's Green Mountain Bhoys supporters' group. 'How many people queued up for tickets, how many people are disappointed when they can't get them and are reaching out on social media asking if anybody has a spare. 'I would love for the team to jump up to a higher division and play more games, expand the stadium, or have our own stadium at some point, but these are all really big jumps. So the big thing for me in the supporters group is that every year, we just want this to be a bigger, louder, and more widespread experience.' Vermont Green is also converting non-sports fans into supporters of the club on the back of what it stands for. 'Folks who had no interest in soccer are excited by the team,' adds Littwin. 'They're people who were attracted to the club because of the focus on non-sports issues, and felt like this is something they want to be part of. 'You get to hang out with your friends and neighbors and feel part of something bigger for a couple of hours. I've not encountered such a significant portion of fans in any sport, at any club, who are like, 'I was never into soccer, never into sports, and now I'm a diehard supporter.' It's a pretty impressive conversion.' Judith Altneu, who has reported on the team's end-of-season run for the Burlington Free Press, said, 'covering the Green games has made me feel like I'm part of something bigger for the first time since covering Maryland college basketball games as a student. There's nothing like being part of a sold-out crowd.' Josh Nash, senior vice-president at USL, commented that 'Vermont Green has created something powerful – a club that reflects the spirit and identity of its community … Ballard FC comes in from Seattle with a championship pedigree, a relentless style of play, and one of the strongest followings in the league. It's only fitting that the final features two clubs with the most engaged and enthusiastic fans in League Two.' It also helps that the soccer being played is good. On the field, Vermont Green went unbeaten in the regular season, which is a testament to the players and the work of Chris Taylor, the head coach from Liverpool who has impressed in his first season in the role. 'Taylorball has completely changed the way Vermonters are enjoying the game,' enthuses Wolff. 'He plays such a fun style, and we've had the privilege of having such good players and such depth that he can really execute what he wants to. His ability to use his subs at the right time has changed games.' The end of the season has been littered with dramatic moments, from two goals in added time to maintain an unbeaten record and win the Northeast Division, to Niklas Herceg's saves and O'Malley's winning goal in the penalty shootout against Dothan. It is entertaining soccer featuring moments of real drama. Everyone involved with Vermont Green is now focused on Saturday's final, but looking in from the outside, it's impossible not to wonder what the future holds for the soccer city of the moment, and how it can grow. 'I think it's a remarkable story, whether we win the final or not,' concludes Infurna. 'I hope that the world will put its eyes on this, because it's something really special, and the people of Vermont deserve the spotlight.'
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
What will the 2025-26 Boston Celtics look like at the start of the regular season?
What will the 2025-26 Boston Celtics look like at the start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season? The Celtics have already made some major moves to the team, trading away veterans like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, letting others like Luke Kornet and Al Horford leave the team in free agency, cutting the 2025 G League Most Valuable Player JD Davison. Boston has dealt for players like Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang, and might trade them yet again. They have also brought on players like Luke Kornet and Josh Minott via signings, and Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams, and Max Shulga as their trio of selections from the 2025 NBA Draft. They have added new voices to the bench of Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, and even seen some significant turnover in the team's front office this summer. In total, Boston will look quite different next season from recent years, and popular Celtics blogger and podcast Dan Greenberg recently joined the folks behind the "WEEI Boston's Sports Original" YouTube channel's "Christian Arcand Show," who put together a clip of their chat on how Boston is going to look next season from the episode in question. Check it out below! Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on: Spotify: iTunes: YouTube:
Boston Globe
31 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
With the Red Sox, actions — as in none — speak louder than words, and other thoughts
Fans make an emotional investment in this team, but management doesn't reciprocate. It's been this way for 6½ seasons and it could not be more obvious. Actions speak louder than words. The Sox talk full throttle, then remain stalled in neutral. Advertisement Apologists and folks who've stopped paying attention cite 'four World Series in this century,' enabling Boston ownership to perpetuate this farce. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Face it, people . . . at this hour, the glories of 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018 may as well be 1918. What happened in the first 16 years of this ownership group has nothing do with how the team operates today. Sox fans who cling to 21st century banners (2003-18) sound like Yankees fans still basking in the glow of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle. Related : The Sox just told you (and their players) that they do not believe this team is good enough to make a serious playoff run. While the Yankees, Mariners, Rangers, Tigers, Astros, Blue Jays, and Royals made serious moves at the deadline, the Red Sox dealt for 34-year-old journeyman lefty reliever Steven Matz and Dodgers starter Dustin May (6-7, 4.85 ERA). Advertisement When the DEADline passed, Boston's chief baseball officer Craig Breslow delivered the usual bon mots, saying 'We pursued impact players,' suggesting other teams weren't interested in Boston's vaunted farm system. Breslow concluded it was best to stick with the 26 big leaguers who are here now. Swell. I particularly liked this quintuple negative from Bres-Lowball: 'None of the deals that didn't end up being executed came from a lack of being aggressive or an unwillingness to get uncomfortable . . . ' Got that, baseball fans? 'I understand the frustration and disappointment,' added Breslow. 'Because we're all looking at the last week in terms of the trades that we made and weren't made and there's not a lot of sympathy for how hard we tried.' Related : We thought Sox principal owner John Henry (who also owns the Globe) was going to reinvest some of the quarter-billion dollars saved when Boston dealt Rafael Devers — an impulse mid-June trade that brought no help for this year's team (bet Raffy would've brought more big league capital if the Sox waited 'til the deadline). Why no big splash for a team that played so well leading into the deadline? Is it ownership's quest to stay under the luxury tax threshold? Is it a case of overrating and overvaluing prospects? Or is it the particularly galling notion that the Red Sox are content with the illusion of contention, no longer willing to go all-in for any single season? The forever .500 Sox have won one playoff series and finished last three times in the last six seasons. CEO Sam Kennedy Advertisement Do the Sox bosses care anymore? They know the ballpark is going to be full. They know the pink hats will sing the insipid song before the home half of the eighth. We get no answers from silent ownership. Just more empty pledges from mouthpieces Kennedy and Breslow. Remember when the pitching-poor Boston Braves had, 'Spahn and Sain and pray for rain' At the trade deadline of 2025, the Red Sox have 'May and Matz, now go watch the Pats.' Related : ⋅ Quiz: Name the four training camp sites for the Patriots since they were founded in 1960; 2: Name four players with multiple punt returns for touchdowns for the Patriots (answers below). ⋅ Bob Kraft certainly has a lot of 'visions' when it comes to hiring head coaches. During the Jerod Mayo debacle, Kraft insisted that the idea of making Mayo his coach came to him when the two visited Israel as part of an organizational trip to the Holy Land in 2019. In an interview with Kay Adams this past week, Kraft was asked when he knew Mike Advertisement ⋅ Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk isn't a fan of the way catchers play today. O'Brien, Frank Globe Staff ⋅ All good Red Sox fans want to see classy Advertisement ⋅ Cooperstown leftovers: Ken Griffey Jr. is a legit photojournalist and took pictures of Rory McElroy winning the Masters earlier this year. Griffey joins former teammate (and fellow Hall of Famer) Randy Johnson, who's been taking photos for many years and just published his first book, featuring 100 photos of African wildlife: ' Baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. has moved on to a career in photograhy. Ashley Landis/Associated Press ⋅ The Washington Post's Tom Boswell won the BBWAA's Career Excellence Award. The winner gets to ride on the Hall of Fame bus to the induction ceremony and ESPN's Tim Kurkjian remembers sitting with Sandy Koufax on the short ride three years ago. 'I was so nervous,' recalled Kurkjian. 'I wasn't sure what to say, but I knew he'd played basketball, so I asked him if he'd been able to dunk, and he loved that question. He had been a dunker and we talked about basketball for the entire ride to the ceremony.' ⋅ Seeing Lee Smith in Cooperstown (Smith is shockingly trim after a heart transplant) reminded me of what Frank Robinson said when the Red Sox acquired Smith from the Cubs for Al Nipper and Calvin Schiraldi at the 1987 Winter Meetings: 'The Red Sox just got a horse for two ponies.' Advertisement ⋅ Made it out to Polar Park Wednesday for IronPigs vs. WooSox. Dollar for dollar, it's still the best pro baseball fan experience in New England. The WooSox are enshrining Janet Marie Smith, Jarren Duran, and J.P. Ricciardi in their Hall of Fame Aug. 20. WooSox manager Chad Tracy is the son of former Dodgers manager Jim Tracy and remembers being around the clubhouse when Alex Cora played for LA. ⋅ Wondering why the Blue Jays are in first place? Maybe it's because they try to put the bat on the ball instead of swinging for homers on every pitch. Going into the weekend, the Jays were striking out 17.4 percent of the time, compared with a MLB average of 22 percent. It's the lowest strikeout rate since the world champion 2017 Astros (17.3 percent, and they knew what pitch was coming!) The Blue Jays, who make a lot of contact, are in first place in the American League East. Stephanie Scarbrough/Associated Press ⋅ Thirty-one-year-old Duncan Robinson, a product of The Governor's Academy in Byfieldand Williams College (before Michigan), will be the second-oldest player on the Pistons this coming season (Tobias Harris is 33). Undrafted out of Ann Arbor, Robinson earned $70 million in seven seasons with the Heat and is starting a three-year, $48 million deal with Detroit. The 6-foot-7-inch marksman is a career 39.7 percent 3-point shooter. ⋅ Here's wishing the best of health to Deion Sanders, who's been nothing short of heroic and brave in his bout with bladder cancer. ⋅ The Athletic put together a fascinating look at estimated values of big-time college football programs across America. Texas came in first, at an estimated $2.38 billion, followed by Georgia ($1.92 billion), Ohio State ($1.9 billion), Notre Dame ($1.85 billion), and Michigan ($1.83 billion). Boston College, the only New England school listed (makes me proud to live here), was ranked 64th with an estimated value of $172 million. The Athletic reported BC's average annual football revenue to be $43.1 million, compared with Notre Dame's average of $143 million. ⋅ Christine Brennan's outstanding book, ' ⋅ Make sure to watch 'Taurasi,' a three-part documentary on UConn champion and women's basketball legend Diana Taurasi, which airs starting next Friday, on Amazon Prime Video. It is spectacular. US basketball star Diana Taurasi won her sixth gold medal last summer. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press ⋅ Former Bills coach Marv Levy turns 100 on Sunday. ⋅ RIP Bill Margolin, longtime director of the West End House and Boys & Girls Club of Allston, and the West End House Camp in Parsonsfield, Maine. In almost seven decades of service to others, he impacted thousands of children across New England and beyond. ▪ Anagram of the week: Dustin May = Sad mutiny. ⋅ Quiz answer: 1: UMass Amherst (1960-61, 1969-75); Phillips Academy, Andover (1962-68); Bryant College, Smithfield, R.I. (1976-2002); Gillette Stadium (2003-25); 2: Julian Edelman (4), Irving Fryar (3), Troy Brown (3), Mike Haynes (2). Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
