It ended nil-nil between Vermont Green FC and Western Mass Pioneers in a thrilling league clash in front of another sold-out crowd on Saturday night. It was a matchup between the 2nd and 3rd place clubs in the Northeast Division standings, and it was an entertaining affair—both sides had good looks on goal—but there was no breakthrough.
Coach Pfeifer called upon Nick Lockermann to start in the holding midfield position in the absence of the suspended Rodrigo Vaza. It was Lockermann’s first appearance in the USL League Two season, after shining for the Green during the early spring’s US Open Cup matches. The club re-signed the versatile German after his brief stint with Ventura County Fusion.
The marquee matchup was also a showdown between the nations top two goalscorers. Alec Hughes and Yaniv Bazini, both with eight goals this season, were (unsurprisingly) both in the starting eleven. Interestingly, Bazini wasn’t playing the forward’s role. Pfeifer electing to start the dangerman on the left wing to accommodate Jacob Labovitz as the point of the attack.
The Green enjoyed the lionshare of the possession in the first half. Moussa Ndiaye and his fellow defenders were quick to snuff out the Pioneers’ counterattacks.
Bazini and Hughes both had good looks on goal. Bazini pushed his just wide, and Hughes forced Vermont keeper Francesco Montali into an impressive save. Montali was impressive all evening, coming off his line with impeccable timing multiple times throughout the ninety minutes.
Bernardo Prego, starting in his usual spot at right back, dazzled the Virtue Field faithful with his electrifying footwork and fearless defending. Ahead of him on the right wing was Gabe Threadgold, giving the Green some truly remarkable speed down the right flank.
Things got fairly chippy in the second half of the match, and both sides had set pieces in dangerous positions, but no efforts found the back of the net. Nevertheless, the Virtue crowd was engaged as ever: ooo-ing and ahh-ing at Prego’s cunning skills, erupting for a couple of controversial yellow cards, and jeering the Pioneers for their late game timewasting tactics.
The full-time whistle blew and the two well-matched sides shook hands and dusted themselves off, the spoils shared. They will battle again in the final match of the regular season: July 13 in Ludlow, Mass.
Lineups
Vermont Green FC — Francesco Montali, Nathan Siméon, Sjur Drechsler, Moussa Ndiaye (c), Bernardo Prego, Sam Layton, Nick Lockermann, Gabe Threadgold, Zach Zengue, Yaniv Bazini, Jacob Labovitz.
Subs — Jahiem Wickham, Ryan Combe, Carlos Zambrano, Ernest Bawa, Lucas Windschauer, Jackson Castro, Gerardo Castillo.
Referees: Anando Dubo, Johnathan Lux, Elvis Jandric
Weather: 69°F
Attendance: 2,500+
Postmatch Quotes
“It was a tough game capping off a challenging week with injuries and guys taking important opportunities with MLS clubs,” said Adam Pfeifer. “All things considered we’ll take a point from a top opponent and look ahead to Tuesday to keep pushing for a playoff spot”
Next Women’s Match
Vermont Green FC will field a women’s team for an exhibition match on June 22nd, 2024 at 6pm at Virtue Field. The match will signal Vermont Green FC’s commitment to explore the expansion of the club to include a full-season women’s team. Online tickets are sold out, but a limited number of tickets will be available at the door. The grassy hill behind the north goal will be open to the public for free.
Next Men’s Match
Vermont Green FC will host Boston City FC on Wednesday, June 26 at 7pm in another USL League Two showdown. Tickets are available at tickets.vermontgreenfc.com.
