Call it a streak.
After suffering six losses in their first nine games against the Seacoast United Phantoms, Vermont Green managed to pull off a third successive win against the 2024 USL2 Champions Seacoast United Phantoms.
The first half would be the more even of the two with a balanced scoreline and relatively competitive play. The same couldn't be said for the final 45 as Vermont Green were dominant, spending most of the game pinning Seacoast into its own half. As the team got more and more tired, individual mistakes were made and the Green utilized those moments to pour on the pressure. Arnold Matshazi would break the dam in the 61st minute, with Martin Bakken sealing the deal in stoppage time.
The match began quite even with both teams managing their share of possession and equal intensity. After about 15 minutes, though, Seacoast began a decline it never quite came back from. Brendan Lambe even called it out around the 17th minute, heckling his opponent
"They're already gassed, they're gassed, they're already done!"
The first half would drift more and more towards the Green until the final 10 minutes, where they truly took over. Several chances were generated by Vermont's wingers in Diego Rosas and Marco Dos Santos, though none were good enough to change the score.
Seacoast did manage to do a bit of damage – namely on a free kick won by Louis Crofts, and an excellent cutback chance that sent Marco Dos Santos flying by – generating enough space to take a curling shot that was wide of hitting the left post.
Post halftime, Vermont managed the majority of possession, though nothing particularly interesting came of it with no clear cut chances from either side. Brandon Marshall had an important clearance intervention after Aidan Sheppela pulled off a nutmeg pass to Emmett Shea, whose cross was put towards the box. After a bad tackle in the 61st minute, Arnold Matshazi turned the ball into the back of the net off a free kick.
From then on, Seacoast began to show some rust by giving away a number of poor passes. While none ended up becoming goals, they did help the Green establish an extremely high position on the field that they wouldn't give up until just about the end of the match, constantly winning possession back inside their attacking half. Dos Santos and Rosas showed their abilities, taking on players 1v1 and sliding in a multitude of crosses that didn't quite find the feet of friendlies. They'd break free once again with a Martin Bakken goal created by Aidan Godinho in stoppage time.
Seacoast woke up for the last few minutes, showing desperation with a scissor-kick attempt that didn't get clean contact and a couple attacking movements down their right wing. It wouldn't be enough, though, as Vermont Green would see out the game, earning a shutout and their first win of the 2026 USL2 Regular Season.
Lineups
Vermont Green FC make their 2026 USL2 Regular Season debut with a strong starting XI, with 9 changes from their previous match last month in the 2026 US Open Cup 2nd Round. Brandon Marshall captains the side in place of goalkeeper Niklas Herceg, while Marco Dos Santos rounds out the two holdovers - making his first return to Seacoast United since transferring to Vermont Green this year.
Key moments
5 - Shot: Marco Dos Santos dribbles from the right over to the center of the box, cuts back, though the ensuring shot is blocked.
9 - Tackle: Seacoast's Feneridis puts in a rough tackle on Arnold Matshazi - a major tone setter and the first spark of the match; firing up players, coaches and fans alike.
19 - Foul: Miller is fouled about 25 yards from goal. It results in a good shot, but goes out for an inconsequential corner.
23 - Chance: Bangura, Rosas and Dos Santos have an excellent moment of interplay, slowly sliding left. The chance is killed by Seacoast, and the following free kick is headed well wide by Bangura.
27 - Save: Seacoast's Croft puts in a fantastic ball, forcing Carney to make his first save of the evening at his near post.
32 - Chance: Marco Dos Santos is so close to getting onto the end of a low cross from Linberg.
34 - YELLOW CARD: Danny Dokov is issued a yellow for an off-ball challenge on Marco Dos Santos while the latter was cutting inside.
43 - Save: GK Cam Hall makes an incredible swan-like diving save on a ball that was likely going wide.
45+2 - Chance: Sergios Ferenidis finds Fandunyan with an inch-perfect ball in the middle of the box, but he can't quite make his first touch count, saving Vermont's bacon.
57 - Clearance: Seacoast's Cam Hall makes yet another huge dive to his left to save a curler from Rosas - this time bailed out by his defense, who heads the ball off the line.
60 - Yellow Card: Shea goes into the ref's book for a poor tackle.
61 - GOAL: The ensuing free kick is turned in by a header by Vermont Green's Matshazi!
63 - Sub: Aror comes in for Bangura.
64 - Subs: Seacoast makes three changes.
68 - Yellow Card: Seacoast is booked for a tackle on Matshazi, who is down for quite awhile.
74 - Chance: Matshazi has an identical chance as Fandunyan had at the end of the first half. His own first touch also betrays him and the ball trickles away.
75 - Sub: Bakken comes in for Matshazi.
86 - Sub: Seacoast make another change.
89 - Chance: Rosas hits a brilliant ball breaking a line and putting Godinho in on goal. The keeper beats him to the ball by a fraction of a second.
90+2 - GOAL: Godinho gets into a 1v1 with the keeper after capitalizing on a miscue. He cuts left, but is taken out by a defender. Advantage is played, though, and Bakken hustles to tap the ball in at the post from a yard out!
90+5 - Dos Santos gets sandwiches by two Seacoast players and clatters to the ground
Quick thoughts
Make it three - After struggling mightily against Seacoast in their first couple years, Vermont Green FC managed to extend their winning streak against Seacoast to three games after sweeping them in 2025. Their last regular season loss was also dealt by Seacoast back in 2024, but by this point, that's old and forgotten news. A 2-0 win and pushing your rival's record to 0-2 on the year is a pretty good way to kick off the USL2 season.
Rapid Gelling - Just beginning practice Tuesday and missing multiple returning players from last season, Vermont's group appeared to have gelled quite quickly. Players knew exactly where to pass, and key partnerships like McHenry and Marshall along the back, and Lambe and Bangura in central midfield looked quite comfortable next to each other. In a league where the schedule is tight and every game matters, being ready to go from the jump absolutely matters. Even just two dropped results can be deep waters for teams in a division as contested as the Northeast. Picking up 3 points to start the year is a great way to keep confidence flowing - you can only expect the team to improve more as players spend more time on the field together.
It was a mash, it was a Matshazi Mash - Arnold Matshazi took an utter beating this game but played his role perfectly - holding up the ball with appreciable core strength, getting on the end of crunching tackles and making the right runs to be at the end of crosses. Taking over from guys like Tattevin and Kissel is no easy task, but he did so with aplomb. Though he could have been a bit more clinical on the couple of clear-cut chances he got - especially the chance in the 74th in on goal - the rust is only just starting to come off and he still managed to score the game decider - you can only nitpick so much!
Player spotlight
Brenden Lambe: Despite not registering either of the two goals on the evening, the central midfielder's ball security proved massive. He showed a knack for getting involved in nearly every meaningful possession moment, and was sound defensively to go along with his positive possession play.
