USL 2 Northeast Division 2025 End of Season Roundup

The Green take first after undefeated regular season, WMP secures home playoff game, Boston City finishes last for second time in three years

Photo courtesy of Vermont Green FC

As we enter the peak of summer, another USL 2 Northeast Division campaign has come to a close. This season's rendition was just as exciting as ever, with sold out summer nights in Vermont, dominant division one talent on display, a new club entering the mix, and so much more. Let’s take a closer look at the final standings to see just how each team in the division fared across the fourteen-game-long summer season.

1st: Vermont Green - 36 Points

For the first time in their history, Vermont Green are champions of the USL 2 Northeast Division. This comes after a simply magical campaign in which the Green went undefeated with 11 wins and 3 draws. The boys in green made Virtue Field their fortress, selling out nearly every home game and boasting one of the most iconic fan bases in all of New England soccer.

First year Head Coach Chris Taylor utilized one of the deepest squads in all of USL 2 along his regular season run. The clubs all-time appearance leader Moussa Ndiaye, anchored the boys in green from the back, while club legend and fan favorite Zachary Zengue led the team with 8 goals. Top-tier division one goalkeepers Judewellin Michel and Niklas Herceg combined for a league-leading 8 clean sheets, while the dynamic striking trio of Tyler Trimnal, Arnaud Tattevin, and Jacob Labovitz totaled 9 league goals.

The Green claimed their league title in dramatic fashion at Lusitano Stadium last Friday against the Western Mass Pioneers, scoring two fantastic stoppage time goals to earn themselves a 2-2 tie, a point that was good enough to lock up first place. Now, the Green will look to make a deep run in the league-wide playoffs, hosting one of the Eastern Conference playoff pods in a little less than a weeks time at Virtue Field.

2nd: Western Mass Pioneers - 33 Points

Last Friday night, the Pioneers were moments away from sealing the league title. But despite their epic stoppage time collapse against Vermont, it was another super strong campaign for the historic Western Mass club. The team won 10 games and drew three, losing only once all season (a 2-0 defeat on the road to top-of-the-table Vermont).

Their 46 goals scored were the most in the league, nine more than first place Vermont. 15 of those 46 were scored by the duo of Brazilian-born Israel Neto and Swedish-born Oskar Kaufmann, who scored seven and eight goals respectively. The Pioneers ran up the score on several occasions, winning by five or more goals in four separate matches, including a season-opening 9-0 rout over Boston City.

After clinching second place in the division, the Pioneers were able to secure themselves a home playoff game. On Tuesday night, they will welcome the Long Island Rough Riders into historic Lusitano Stadium for a first-round Eastern Conference playoff matchup. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM in Ludlow, where the atmosphere is sure to be electric.

3rd: Black Rock - 25 Points

The gap between second and third place was a pretty significant eight points. But in their one meeting this season, Black Rock held their own against the second-place Pioneers, battling them to a 1-1 tie on the road. That was the story of the Nashua, New Hampshire-based club’s season: getting big results against the odds.

After finishing in last place in the division last season with just two points, expectations were understandably low for Black Rock this season. But with a fresh roster, they were able to get some big results that pushed them up the table. The team lost just once in their final eight games of the season, getting big victories over Boston City, Albany Rush, AC Connecticut, and Boston Bolts during that time.

At the end of the day, Black Rock had the same issue as everyone else, which was getting past Vermont Green. Head Coach Jose Coss’ side lost twice to the team from New Hampshire’s rival state, despite battling the boys in green hard on their home turf back on July 5th.

4th: AC Connecticut - 22 Points

Soccer teams from Connecticut aren’t particularly known for their recent success (sorry Hartford Athletic fans). But AC Connecticut was able to hold its own this season in a competitive division. The club’s 22 goals scored matched their 22 points across seven wins and one draw in 14 games.

One particular bright spot for the squad was Sacred Heart goalkeeper Luca Marinelli, who started all 14 games. Marinelli was able to keep four clean sheets in his appearances, including a big one against Vermont Green that helped his side earn a 0-0 draw. Other standout players included former Vermont Green man Sam McCann and Connecticut native Nickolas Santana, who each scored 3 goals during the season. Wearing the number 10 jersey, Daniel Istambouli led the team with 4 goals.

The Connecticut side finished the season strong, with three wins in their final four, featuring a 6-3 thriller win over Boston City in their final match of the season to end their campaign on a high note.

5th: New England FC - 21 Points

2025 was New England FC’s first season as a club in the USL 2 Northeast Division. They made WPI’s Alumni Stadium their home and jumped right into action with a roster packed with top division one talent and former academy players.

For their inaugural season, the boys in red, white, and blue did pretty well. Their best stretch of the season came in late June, when they won three consecutive matches against AC Connecticut, Seacoast United, and Albany Rush. Across those three matches, Rutgers midfielder Thomas Angelone shined, scoring a goal in each game. Additionally, Boston College’s Jack Burkhardt was a bright spot, operating as a midfield general for NEFC. Burkhardt would later go on to be named to the USL 2 league-wide team of the month for June.

NEFC held strong in third place for a majority of the season, but it was two scoreless draws to the Boston Bolts in the final stages of the season that eventually knocked them down to fifth. Next year, the Central Mass based club will surely bring in another strong roster and look to compete amongst the top of the Northeast Division once again.

6th: Seacoast United - 17 Points

It’s fair to say that last year's national champions had an extremely underwhelming season. Their 2024 playoff run was nothing short of legendary, capped off by a come-from-behind victory over Peoria in the national championship.

But this season, the Phantoms struggled against Northeast Division opponents who they had made easy work of a year previous, falling into the bottom half of the table.

After leading Seacoast to a national championship and spending several years as the head coach of the club, Alex Ryan left prior to the season, taking a job with the newly founded Portland Hearts of Pine. His replacement was Josh Taylor, the head coach at Southern New Hampshire University since 2008. In his first season, Taylor’s club suffered five one goal losses, as well as a thrashing from each of the top two teams in the league.

Towards the end of the season, Seacoast found a little bit more form, ending its campaign with nine goals across two big victories. Additionally, prior to that, they gave first-place Vermont Green a run for their money in a 3-2 classic, renewing the rivalry that northern New England soccer fans adored last season. Next season in his second year at the helm, there are signs that Josh Taylor could bring the Phantoms back closer to where they were in 2024, despite a disappointing campaign this year.

7th: Boston Bolts - 14 Points

With a league-leading five draws and only three wins, the Boston Bolts finished in seventh place. For the Bolts, 2025 was really an up-and-down campaign. There were some really good moments, like tying Vermont Green at Virtue in front of a packed house and walking away from the Seacoast United Complex with three points.

And then there were some pretty ugly moments, like throwing away a 2-0 lead in the 85th minute to eighth-place Albany at home and failing to score a single goal in 90 minutes against last-place Boston City, who conceded 57 goals across 14 games (an even uglier statistic).

There was certainly some good talent on display this summer at Brandeis University though, the home of the Bolts. Felipe de Andrade and Ben Kelly were flashy wingers with pace and skill who caused opponents problems. Morris Matthews and Rainer Chai commanded the midfield, while Bryant center back Abdel Talabi led the team with his aerial presence from the back.

Ultimately, the problem for the Bolts was putting the ball in the net. They scored just 15 goals all season, more than only the two teams behind them in the table, letting really good chances go to waste. With a few more goals scored, the historic club could have very well found themselves a few places higher in the table.

8th: Albany Rush - 7 Points

2025 was a pretty tough year for the league's only non-New England side. Despite winning two out of their first four, Albany went winless in their final 10 matches of the season. During that stretch, they were outscored 38-6. What’s worse is that in their final five matches of the season, they were outscored 23-0, failing to score a single goal.

There was some decent young talent on display for the Rush this season. 18 year olds Lucas Horja and Enesio Capollari both had some really good moments over the course of the season, each appearing in at least 10 games. The team’s MVP was undoubtedly 19-year-old Ryan Farr, who led the team with seven goals in nine appearances. Some of his goals were big ones too, like his brace against Black Rock to secure a 2-0 win and his 84th minute strike against the Bolts that sparked a comeback.

At the end of the day, this Albany roster was pretty poor, lacking some of the depth and elite division one talent that most of the other clubs in the division had. It’ll certainly take some real work and effort to get this club out of the bottom half of the table, where they have fallen for the past four years.

9th: Boston City - 2 Points

For the second time in three years, Boston City has finished in last place in the Northeast Division. Things haven’t exactly been going well for the club as of late, but 2025 was an all-new low. Across 14 games, Boston City conceded 57 goals, averaging over four goals against per game. On top of that, it only managed 14 goals, the second fewest in the league.

Aside from a goalless draw at the beginning of the season with the Boston Bolts and a thrilling 3-3 tie at home with Black Rock, Boston City lost all of their games. The club was outscored 19-0 in their first four games of the season, including 9-0 and 8-0 losses at home.

For one thing, goalkeepers Kevin Gil, Jake Moulton, and Alec Pettit had a busy summer of shot-stopping, making some really strong saves and doing their all to keep Boston City in the game. Additionally, Jack Slade was a nice addition to the roster towards the end of the season. The rising freshman at High Point scored two goals in five starts.

After such a difficult past three seasons, it's clear that something needs to change for Boston City. Its 34 goals scored in the past three years are still 12 less than the Western Mass Pioneers scored this year alone. The club’s -43 goal differential this season is 37 goals less than seventh-place Boston Bolts’ goal differential of -6. Its one home win in the last three years is far less than any other club in the division. With statistics like that generating all the wrong headlines, it can’t go on like this can it? (or in the words of Mick McCarthy, maybe it can).