Vermont Green FC traveled down to Ludlow, Massachusetts, on Tuesday for the club's first meeting against New England Mutiny.
Head Coach Abby Carchio made three changes from the historical 2-1 victory over the Hudson Valley Crusaders in the club’s inaugural home match in front of a packed crowd at Virtue Field. Olivia Shippee returned between the pipes behind the back four of Georgina Clarke, Bridget Kennedy, Brooke Birtwistle, and Chloe Gorman. Lily Gibbs, Brenna Connell, and Isabel Smith formed the midfield behind the attacking trio of Olivia Grenda, Lauren DeGroot, and Tess Barrett.
Vermont nearly found the opener two minutes into the game as Lily Gibbs got onto the ball yards outside the box and slotted into an advancing Tess Barrett, who couldn’t get a shot off in time as New England’s defense cleared it. The job wasn’t done as the Mutiny’s attempted clearance fell to Olivia Grenda, who attempted a strike from distance, but had her effort ricochet off a defender and away from danger.
A flurry of chances came Vermont’s way in the 12th minute. After receiving a pass in the middle third of the pitch, Lily Gibbs advanced to the edge of the box before rocketing a shot to the right side of the goal that evaded the reach of the keeper, but ultimately ricocheted off the woodwork. Grenda was at the right place at the right time as the forward got on the loose ball and attempted to find the roof of the net, but put too much on it as it sailed over the goal.
Another close chance came Vermont’s way in the 21st minute. It all started with Georgina Clarke attempting to volley home a clear header that was deflected by New England’s keeper. Lauren DeGroot got on the end of the keeper’s bobble and had a wide-open goal, but put too much on the close-range shot as it sailed wide.
Carchio’s first change of the match came before the start of the second half as Sydney Remington replaced Lily Gibbs. Another change came Vermont’s way in the 59th minute as Annie Gnidula replaced Lauren DeGroot.
Substitute Annie Gnidula nearly found the opening goal in the 63rd minute after the forward broke down the left flank and cut inward before lasering a shot that ricocheted off the keeper. Gnidula’s deflected shot fell right to fellow substitute Sydney Remington, but a New England defender deflected the shot away.
After countless opportunities, Vermont Green finally found the breakthrough in the 66th minute as a series of passes led the ball to Georgina Clarke, who slotted the ball into the back of the net to mark the midfielder’s second goal of the 2026 campaign and give Vermont the 1-0 lead.
Another Vermont Green change came following the goal, as Neve Renwick replaced Tess Barrett.
Vermont nearly doubled its lead in the 79th minute as Georgina Clarke broke up the left flank before curling a well-placed cross directly to the head of an open Annie Gnidula yards out from goal. Unfortunately, Gnidula couldn’t strike the header accurately as it sailed wide of the net.
Another change for Vermont came in the 81st minute as Louisa Thomsen replaced Annie Gnidula.
Disaster struck for Vermont in the 90th minute as some fancy footwork led to Mila Dillard driving the ball to the top of the box as the forward drilled a shot to the bottom-right corner and past a diving Olivia Shippee and into the net to tie the match at one apiece.
An unfortunate end to the match as neither side came out the winners following a 1-1 draw.
Vermont Green will look to get back in the win column on Friday when they host Canadian side Lakeshore SC in the 2026 Maple Cup at 7 PM. The club returns to USL W action on June 2nd when they travel to Danbury, Connecticut, to face AC Connecticut at 3 PM.
