Vermont Men's Soccer Weekly Notebook
After splitting a pair of challenging games on the West Coast, the University of Vermont Catamounts return home to host the 17th annual Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic at Centennial Field this weekend. In its 2007 home opener, Vermont (1-1-0) takes on Massachusetts (1-1-0) Friday at 4:30pm after New Hampshire (0-1-1) and Michigan State (2-0-0) kick off the tournament at 2:00pm. In Sunday's second round, UNH plays UMass at 11:00am and the Catamounts meet the Spartans in the nightcap at 1:15pm. The Catamounts are looking to capture their third straight Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic title and their seventh overall. At home last season Vermont went 6-2-0 and over the past three campaigns, it is 17-4-5 at Centennial Field. Vermont opened last weekend with an impressive 1-0 victory at perennial West Coast Conference power San Francisco before dropping a hard-fought, 2-0, decision at fifth-ranked Santa Clara. A second-half goal by T.J. Gore (Macomb, Mich.) and strong team defense made the difference in the win over the Dons Friday night as the Catamounts limited USF to only nine shots. Sunday, the defending WCC champion Broncos jumped out to an early two-goal lead and made it stick by holding off a gritty UVM second half effort. Scouting the Minutemen ... Former Yankee Conference rivals, Vermont and Massachusetts renewed their rivalry for the first time since 1991 meeting last season in Amherst, a 1-0 Catamount victory. This is the first appearance in the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic for the Minutemen, who are also the first Atlantic-10 team in the tourney. UMass (8-8-3 in 2006) last weekend lost at home to Maine, 1-0, in overtime before bouncing back with a 2-1 extra time win at Dartmouth. Coach Sam Koch, in his 17th season at the helm, returned nine starters including junior goalkeeper Zack Simmons who led the A-10 last year with 10 shutouts and tied for first with a 0.96 goals against average. Junior forward Prince Ofosu scored the overtime winner against the Big Green. Scouting the Wildcats ... A regular in the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic, this is New Hampshire's 14th appearance in the tourney. UNH has won a share of the classic title four times with its last title coming in 2002. Last weekend the Wildcats (12-5-3 in 2006) participated in the Nike Invitational in Portland, Ore. where they played 18th-ranked Washington to a 0-0 double overtime draw Friday and lost to host Portland, 3-0, on Sunday. Coach Rob Thompson, in his 13th season at UNH, has several quality veterans back including all-conference back John Bergqvist. Senior goalkeeper Mike Jenne recorded the shutout against Washington while last year's America East Rookie and Striker of the Year Chris Banks, the leading scorer in the conference in 2006, did not see action in the first two games. Scouting the Spartans ... Michigan State is the first Big Ten school to appear in the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic which has featured teams from many of the top men's soccer conferences including the ACC, Missouri Valley, West Coast, Big East and Pac-10. The Spartans have eight starters back from a team that went 10-7-2 a year ago and they opened the 2007 season with shutout wins at home over Oregon State (1-0) and Western Kentucky (2-0). This week MSU is ranked fifth in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region. Senior goalie Chris Austin has recorded two shutouts to start the season while Doug DeMartin has scored two goals. This is Joe Baum's 31st season at Michigan State and the veteran mentor is two wins shy of 300 for his career (298-217-48). Just one other Big Ten coach, Indiana's Jerry Yeagley, has reached the 300 victory plateau. Poll Position ... Vermont was picked to finish third in the 2007 America East preseason coaches poll as just three points separated the top three teams. Defending champion Binghamton was chosen first capturing 54 points and three-first place votes. Boston University was tabbed for second with 53 points and a pair of first place votes while the Catamounts received three first place votes and had 52 points. New Hampshire (38 points) was picked to finish fourth. In the Atlantic-10 preseason coaches poll, UMass was tabbed for 10th among the 14 teams in the conference while Michigan State was picked to come in sixth in the Big Ten. Spartan Bloodlines ... Vermont sophomore forward T.J. Gore grew up in Macomb, Mich. following Michigan State in many sports and he will battle the Spartans Sunday. His father, Tim, was a four-year basketball letterwinner at guard for Michigan State from 1981 to 1984. T.J. Gore, along with Cats freshman Brendan Symington (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), have faced several of the Spartans in high school and club soccer matches through the years. Introducing ... Three of the six Catamount freshmen made their collegiate debut in the first two games with Gary Cole (Littleton, Colo.), Brendan Symington and Kyle Luetkehans (Lyons Township, Ill.), seeing action. Cole started both games at back and was steady in the two contests especially in the shutout at San Francisco. Cat Nips ... Junior goalkeeper Roger Scully (East Lyme, Conn.) recorded his ninth career shutout at San Francisco ... Junior Tom Critz (Enfield, Conn.) played in goal Sunday against Santa Clara ... Senior Justin Geibel (Boxford, Mass.) picked up an assist on T.J. Gore's goal in the opener ... With the win at USF, Vermont now is 23-13-7 in season-opening matches including four straight victories ... UVM's captains this season are Panos Georgiadis (Morrisville, Vt.) and Connor Tobin (Fort Collins, Colo.). This is the second straight year Georgiadis has led the team ... Georgiadis is one of five Vermont natives on the roster this season. On Deck ... The Cats close out their three-game homestand hosting 21st-ranked Harvard, the defending Ivy League Champion, on Tuesday at 4:00pm at Centennial Field. Vermont then hits the road for its next five contests including playing Sacred Heart (Friday, September 14) and Central Connecticut (Sunday, September 16) next weekend at UNH's Nike Fall Soccer Classic in Durham, N.H.
For ticket information for home games, please contact the UVM Athletic Ticket Office at 1-866-4CAT-TIX or log on to uvmathletics.com. UVM students (with a valid ID) and all Victory Club members are admitted free to all regular season home games. Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic Promotions ... The first 100 fans for Friday's home opener with will receive a Vermont Soccer Schedule Magnet courtesy of Marcos Pizza. Friday is also Mentoring Day with discount tickets for MOBIUS, Boys & Girls Club, King St. Youth Center members. Mentors buy one ticket and kids get in free.
The first 500 UVM students at the Sunday's Michigan State game will receive an outdoor folding chair courtesy of TD Banknorth. Sunday features several other promotions as the first 200 fans receive the 2007 Vermont men's soccer team poster courtesy of the UPS Store of Downtown Burlington with the Catamounts will be available for autographs following the contest. Sunday is also Vermont Soccer Youth Day where youth soccer players will be admitted free if wearing their team jersey, it is $1.00 Dog Day compliments of University Dining, there will be a UVM Alumni pregame gathering starting at 12:45pm at baseball field picnic area and there will be a UVM Continuing Education Student Halftime Fanfest at the Vermont-Michigan State game. The complete UVM men's soccer promotional schedule is available on www.uvmathletics.com by clicking here. Catamounts Host Free Youth Soccer Clinic Saturday ... In conjunction with the 17th annual Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic, the University of Vermont men's soccer team will hold a free youth soccer clinic on Saturday, September 8 at 12:00pm at Centennial Field. UVM head coach Jesse Cormier, his staff and members of the Catamounts will conduct the hour-long clinic that is for boys and girls ages 13 years and younger. Children that attend the clinic will receive a free ticket to the Sunday's Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic doubleheader. "Wallpaper" ... Vermont fans can now get wallpaper to put on their computer screens to show their Catamount pride. The wallpaper is offered for every team at Vermont and will be updated as the year progresses. Click here to view and download your Vermont Athletics wallpaper.
After splitting a pair of challenging games on the West Coast, the University of Vermont Catamounts return home to host the 17th annual Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic at Centennial Field this weekend. In its 2007 home opener, Vermont (1-1-0) takes on Massachusetts (1-1-0) Friday at 4:30pm after New Hampshire (0-1-1) and Michigan State (2-0-0) kick off the tournament at 2:00pm. In Sunday's second round, UNH plays UMass at 11:00am and the Catamounts meet the Spartans in the nightcap at 1:15pm. The Catamounts are looking to capture their third straight Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic title and their seventh overall. At home last season Vermont went 6-2-0 and over the past three campaigns, it is 17-4-5 at Centennial Field. Vermont opened last weekend with an impressive 1-0 victory at perennial West Coast Conference power San Francisco before dropping a hard-fought, 2-0, decision at fifth-ranked Santa Clara. A second-half goal by T.J. Gore (Macomb, Mich.) and strong team defense made the difference in the win over the Dons Friday night as the Catamounts limited USF to only nine shots. Sunday, the defending WCC champion Broncos jumped out to an early two-goal lead and made it stick by holding off a gritty UVM second half effort. Scouting the Minutemen ... Former Yankee Conference rivals, Vermont and Massachusetts renewed their rivalry for the first time since 1991 meeting last season in Amherst, a 1-0 Catamount victory. This is the first appearance in the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic for the Minutemen, who are also the first Atlantic-10 team in the tourney. UMass (8-8-3 in 2006) last weekend lost at home to Maine, 1-0, in overtime before bouncing back with a 2-1 extra time win at Dartmouth. Coach Sam Koch, in his 17th season at the helm, returned nine starters including junior goalkeeper Zack Simmons who led the A-10 last year with 10 shutouts and tied for first with a 0.96 goals against average. Junior forward Prince Ofosu scored the overtime winner against the Big Green. Scouting the Wildcats ... A regular in the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic, this is New Hampshire's 14th appearance in the tourney. UNH has won a share of the classic title four times with its last title coming in 2002. Last weekend the Wildcats (12-5-3 in 2006) participated in the Nike Invitational in Portland, Ore. where they played 18th-ranked Washington to a 0-0 double overtime draw Friday and lost to host Portland, 3-0, on Sunday. Coach Rob Thompson, in his 13th season at UNH, has several quality veterans back including all-conference back John Bergqvist. Senior goalkeeper Mike Jenne recorded the shutout against Washington while last year's America East Rookie and Striker of the Year Chris Banks, the leading scorer in the conference in 2006, did not see action in the first two games. Scouting the Spartans ... Michigan State is the first Big Ten school to appear in the Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic which has featured teams from many of the top men's soccer conferences including the ACC, Missouri Valley, West Coast, Big East and Pac-10. The Spartans have eight starters back from a team that went 10-7-2 a year ago and they opened the 2007 season with shutout wins at home over Oregon State (1-0) and Western Kentucky (2-0). This week MSU is ranked fifth in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region. Senior goalie Chris Austin has recorded two shutouts to start the season while Doug DeMartin has scored two goals. This is Joe Baum's 31st season at Michigan State and the veteran mentor is two wins shy of 300 for his career (298-217-48). Just one other Big Ten coach, Indiana's Jerry Yeagley, has reached the 300 victory plateau. Poll Position ... Vermont was picked to finish third in the 2007 America East preseason coaches poll as just three points separated the top three teams. Defending champion Binghamton was chosen first capturing 54 points and three-first place votes. Boston University was tabbed for second with 53 points and a pair of first place votes while the Catamounts received three first place votes and had 52 points. New Hampshire (38 points) was picked to finish fourth. In the Atlantic-10 preseason coaches poll, UMass was tabbed for 10th among the 14 teams in the conference while Michigan State was picked to come in sixth in the Big Ten. Spartan Bloodlines ... Vermont sophomore forward T.J. Gore grew up in Macomb, Mich. following Michigan State in many sports and he will battle the Spartans Sunday. His father, Tim, was a four-year basketball letterwinner at guard for Michigan State from 1981 to 1984. T.J. Gore, along with Cats freshman Brendan Symington (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), have faced several of the Spartans in high school and club soccer matches through the years. Introducing ... Three of the six Catamount freshmen made their collegiate debut in the first two games with Gary Cole (Littleton, Colo.), Brendan Symington and Kyle Luetkehans (Lyons Township, Ill.), seeing action. Cole started both games at back and was steady in the two contests especially in the shutout at San Francisco. Cat Nips ... Junior goalkeeper Roger Scully (East Lyme, Conn.) recorded his ninth career shutout at San Francisco ... Junior Tom Critz (Enfield, Conn.) played in goal Sunday against Santa Clara ... Senior Justin Geibel (Boxford, Mass.) picked up an assist on T.J. Gore's goal in the opener ... With the win at USF, Vermont now is 23-13-7 in season-opening matches including four straight victories ... UVM's captains this season are Panos Georgiadis (Morrisville, Vt.) and Connor Tobin (Fort Collins, Colo.). This is the second straight year Georgiadis has led the team ... Georgiadis is one of five Vermont natives on the roster this season. On Deck ... The Cats close out their three-game homestand hosting 21st-ranked Harvard, the defending Ivy League Champion, on Tuesday at 4:00pm at Centennial Field. Vermont then hits the road for its next five contests including playing Sacred Heart (Friday, September 14) and Central Connecticut (Sunday, September 16) next weekend at UNH's Nike Fall Soccer Classic in Durham, N.H.
For ticket information for home games, please contact the UVM Athletic Ticket Office at 1-866-4CAT-TIX or log on to uvmathletics.com. UVM students (with a valid ID) and all Victory Club members are admitted free to all regular season home games. Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic Promotions ... The first 100 fans for Friday's home opener with will receive a Vermont Soccer Schedule Magnet courtesy of Marcos Pizza. Friday is also Mentoring Day with discount tickets for MOBIUS, Boys & Girls Club, King St. Youth Center members. Mentors buy one ticket and kids get in free.
The first 500 UVM students at the Sunday's Michigan State game will receive an outdoor folding chair courtesy of TD Banknorth. Sunday features several other promotions as the first 200 fans receive the 2007 Vermont men's soccer team poster courtesy of the UPS Store of Downtown Burlington with the Catamounts will be available for autographs following the contest. Sunday is also Vermont Soccer Youth Day where youth soccer players will be admitted free if wearing their team jersey, it is $1.00 Dog Day compliments of University Dining, there will be a UVM Alumni pregame gathering starting at 12:45pm at baseball field picnic area and there will be a UVM Continuing Education Student Halftime Fanfest at the Vermont-Michigan State game. The complete UVM men's soccer promotional schedule is available on www.uvmathletics.com by clicking here. Catamounts Host Free Youth Soccer Clinic Saturday ... In conjunction with the 17th annual Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic, the University of Vermont men's soccer team will hold a free youth soccer clinic on Saturday, September 8 at 12:00pm at Centennial Field. UVM head coach Jesse Cormier, his staff and members of the Catamounts will conduct the hour-long clinic that is for boys and girls ages 13 years and younger. Children that attend the clinic will receive a free ticket to the Sunday's Smith Barney Nike Soccer Classic doubleheader. "Wallpaper" ... Vermont fans can now get wallpaper to put on their computer screens to show their Catamount pride. The wallpaper is offered for every team at Vermont and will be updated as the year progresses. Click here to view and download your Vermont Athletics wallpaper.