In Their Own Words: Vermont Green FC Wins 2025 USL League Two Northeast Division Title
Hear from coaches, players, ownership, and more on what winning a division title means to them
The raw emotions of winning a trophy are better than any storytelling technique. After Vermont Green FC clinched a USL League Two Northeast Division Title, hear from players, coaches, ownership, and more about what the championship means to them.
Sam McCann - Player:
Editor’s note: Sometimes the written word doesn’t do it justice, so you’ll hear the raw audio for Sam’s response.
Chris Taylor - Head Coach:
“Honestly, I'm just humbled to be honest. This is beyond my dreams as a coach. It's the best season I've been a part of. Having people who care about us that much I'm just happy that the players could show what they can do every day and I'm just grateful to be a part of it.”
Owen O’Malley - Player:
“It's unreal. I came here in '22 when the team was in its inaugural season, and they helped me propel to the next level. Whatever happened happened and I'm back here, but all I gotta say is, it's for the fans and for the people of the community. They stuck by us all season and I just do it for them at the end of the day. It's not for me, it's for them.”
Patrick Infurna - Co-Owner:
Jacob Labovitz - Player
“One of the happiest moments of my soccer career for sure. The club means so much to our fans and our community and our players, and especially our owners, and to win in this fashion was unbelievable. So up the Green.”
Adam Pfeifer - Sporting Director
“Honestly, to put it into words right now is impossible. It didn't look good there for a little while. That was the first time we were behind the whole season, literally, the first time we've been down a goal. So it was like, how are you going to react? That was an unknown. You don't know anything in this game untill you actually are in those situations, and you see what happens. So clearly we have some character. That comes down to the coaches and the players themselves.”
Moussa N’Diaye - Player
This means a lot. It just means a lot. This team, this community, the staff, the owners, everybody deserved it.”
Mike Popovitch - Leader of Green Mountain Bhoys Supporters Group, Host of United in Green Podcast
“I don't think in year one that we ever could have imagined this. Here we are in year four, second year in a row, doing it at Lusitano Stadium. It's historic. Doing it an added time. What it means to us as the fans. We've always talked about how Vermont Green creates community, and this is a family. It's not just community. It is a family. To bring back Owen O'Malley to do the one thing that you want him to do and that you need him to do in added time, it means so much to the community, it means so much to the city of Burlington, it means so much of the state of Vermont, and we couldn't have scripted it any better.”
Tom Proctor - Vermont Green FC Public Address Announcer
I mean, it's everything. This club puts you through absolute hell, frankly. We've always punched above our weight since season one. Season one, we had absolutely no right to get to the playoffs. Season two, we got fucking close. Season three, it looked like we're coming to our own and this season, it looked like we were the dominant team. We had Western Mass looking down us every single step of the way and I honestly thought when it got to two nil and it was 90 minutes on the clock, I was like, ‘You know what? We're still only a four year club. Western Mass has been going for God knows how long. This is just part of the learning process. This is part of the growing process.’ Zach Zengue scored a goal, and I was like, ‘it’s the hope that kills you? You can't, hold on to this, because it's going to be the final whistle and I'm going to have to just accept it and know that we got so close.’ But then Owen O'Malley, and honest to God, like the script writers would call that hacky, a guy that was an absolute hero from season one who only scored bangers picks up a ball in the top left hand corner of the box and sticks a curler into the top right hand corner. It's everything that this club deserves. They have done everything right. They've got the right team in, they've got the right mentality and I honestly think it would have always been a matter of when, not if, but I think this year, they absolutely deserved it. They may have given me like, eight heart attacks on the way, but I guess it's worth it.”
Zach Zengue - Player
“It means so much, honestly, that we got to do it. Especially in the fashion that we did it, it meant so much. I was just telling myself, ‘we need one, and I can get one, and I can push the boys to continue to believe’ and that's what happened. I'm just so thankful and I just kept praying in my head, and it came true. So, I'm just thankful we keep going on Friday, and at home with the fans. I'm so excited to play at home with the fans and continue to play with this team. These guys are amazing.”