With a second championship in sight and Bernie Sanders' support, Vermont is the US soccer state of the moment

The Guardian

4 days ago

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.
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.'
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.'