Vermont Green FC returned to their winning ways on Tuesday night with a 1-0 win over Black Rock FC in front of 2,019 fans at Virtue Field. A goal from Zach Zengue was enough to earn all three points for the Green as they extended their unbeaten streak to four matches.
Adam Pfeifer made some distinct changes to the Starting XI, with newly arriving Xavi O’Neil getting the start, his first appearance with the club since April’s U.S. Open Cup game against Carolina Core. Lucas Windschauer also made his debut for the Green at right-back.
The first half looked similar to Wednesday’s clash between the two sides, featuring an intense midfield and defensive battle, with the visitors creating few chances but doing well to stay organized and stop the waves of attacks from the Green. The Vermonters enjoyed more of the possession, but still found the New Hampshire side difficult to unlock in the final third.
The match went into half-time scoreless.
After the interval, Pfeifer called upon his starting group to continue what they started. In the 53rd minute, Windschauer sent a ball down the right side to Xavi O’Neil who crossed the ball centrally to a crashing Zach Zengue. After getting a touch just past the keeper with some deflection, Zengue followed up with an acrobatic smash of the ball into the top netting, battling with a chasing defender until the very last moment. The goal is his third of the season.
In the 72nd minute, Labovitz and Bawa replaced Bazini and Castro in the match. The only other change came in the 83rd minute when Daniel Pacella came on for the goalscorer Zach Zengue.
The Green spent the rest of the match fighting for more chances, and while they found it continually difficult to break through, they were calm and in control at the back, allowing few honest looks for the visitors.
In the 84th minute, Labovitz was through on goal, and put the ball into the back of the net after an initial save. The stadium erupted, but the celebration was cut short: the goal was called off for a foul.
The Boys in Green battled through the final moments of the match, grinding out a 1-0 result and securing all three points. The unbeaten Green will now look to extend their streak this Saturday when AC Connecticut visit Virtue Field on Saturday, June 1st at 6:00pm.
Lineups
Vermont Green FC — Jahiem Wickham, Gabe Threadgold, Sjur Drechsler, Reid Fisher, Lucas Windschauer, Sam Layton, Moussa Ndiaye (c), Jackson Castro, Zach Zengue, Xavi O’Neil, Yaniv Bazini.
Subs — Francesco Montali, Ryan Combe, Daniel Pacella, Andrey ‘Gato’ Salmeron, Jacob Labovitz, Carlos Zambrano, Ernest Bawa.
Black Rock FC — Christian Herluf Braae-Andersen, Yannick Tsafack-Nanhou, Joseph Min, Noah Leddel, Juan O’Neill, Andrew Suarez Santana, Lohkoah Paye, Junyoung Huang, Samuel Knauf, Sachiel Ming, Jethro Dede (c).
Subs — Li Feng, Tremaine Henry, Cedric Lemaire, Jordan Shullenberger, Rafael Borlido, Adrian Diaz Faisca, Leon Brody.
Scoring Summary
VGFC: Zach Zengue – 53′ (assist from Xavi O’Neil)
Referees: Kyle Averill (R), Corey Cenate (AR1), Jason Weischedel (AR2), Jace Laquerre (4th)
Weather: Cloudy with a bit of drizzle, 66°F
Attendance: 2,019
Postmatch Quotes
“We’re proud of the effort from the guys tonight, it was a difficult match as we knew it would be, but we’re happy to get the three points. We stuck to the game plan, we got the goal we needed to go ahead, and we saw things out with discipline and professionalism. We want to score more goals, but we know we have the quality to get there. Preparation for the weekend starts tomorrow.” — Adam Pfeifer, Manager and Sporting Director
Next Match
Vermont Green FC will host AC Connecticut on Saturday, June 1 at 6pm in another USL League Two battle. Tickets are available at tickets.vermontgreenfc.com. The match will be streamed on vermontgreenfc.com/streaming.
