Vermont Soccer Club Chases Second Championship in 2 Years

Vermont Green FC's men's team is heading back to the national championship Saturday with a chance to do something remarkable: win their second consecutive title without losing a single game.

The Burlington club dominated their way through the playoffs with an incredible 11-goal outburst last weekend. They crushed Asheville City SC 4-0 to claim the Eastern Conference crown, then followed up with a commanding 7-1 victory over Laredo Heat in Texas to punch their ticket to the final.

Now they face Flint City Bucks in Michigan, a powerhouse program that has won four national titles. The championship game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, and it's streaming on SportsEngine and WCAX for fans who can't make the trip.

The team's numbers this season tell an eye-popping story. Vermont Green has netted 87 goals while allowing just 14 across their entire campaign in the United Soccer League's second men's tier, which includes 158 teams nationwide.

"It feels surreal," said club co-founder Patrick Infurna about reaching consecutive finals. Last year's championship run felt like an underdog story, with the team grinding out tough wins after falling behind early. This season has been completely different.

"We were kind of the team to beat going into this," Infurna explained. The Green haven't just been winning; they've been dominant from start to finish.

Why This Inspires

This championship run comes just two weeks after Vermont Green FC's women's team reached their own national final, falling on penalty kicks to Salmon Bay FC. The small Burlington club is proving that ambitious dreams and elite soccer can thrive in a state not typically known as a soccer hotbed.

Hundreds of Vermont fans plan to travel to Michigan for the game, while watch parties are springing up across the state at venues like The Mad Rose in Rutland, Zero Gravity Beer Hall in Burlington, and Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier. Tens of thousands more will tune in online.

Head coach Chris Taylor's team won't have home field advantage like they did last year when a sold-out crowd at UVM's Virtue Field overflowed the bleachers and completely encircled the field in celebration. But the support traveling with them matters deeply.

"The support is tangible fuel for what happens on the field," Infurna said. "This group has shown they'll go anywhere and any place and play a soccer game and try and win it."

One more win, and Vermont Green FC will cement their place as one of amateur soccer's most exciting success stories.