Vermont Green FC Tallies Second Win of 2024 Season

Zengue and Bazini power The Green to victory

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

Vermont Green FC tallied its second win of the 2024 USL League Two season, defeating Black Rock FC 2-0.

Jaheim Wickham got the start in net behind a back line of Gerardo Castillo, Moussa N’Diaye, Reid Fisher, and Gabe Threadgold. Daniel Pacella and Sam Layton served as defensive midfielders while Zach Zengue played as a No. 10.

Ernest Bawa and Andrey 'Gato' Salmeron were on the wings while Jacob Labovitz served as the lone striker.

The Green got off to a good start as Zengue tallied the first goal of the match in just the sixth minute. Ndiaye played a beautiful long ball behind the Black Rock back line and Castillo got on the ball. The left back played the ball to Zengue who awkwardly chipped it over the Black Rock goalkeeper.

Castillo was superb on the wing. He brought speed and skill to the flank and created a lot of chances for his teammates.

After the goal, Vermont put pressure on Black Rock getting multiple chances but failing to find the back of the net. The Green pressed their opponents and forced them to cause plenty of mistakes.

Prior to the start of the second half, Vermont was forced to make a change as Yaniv Bazini replaced Layton who exited the match with a knock. With the inclusion of Bazini, The Green shifted to having two strikers up top.

In the 62nd minute, Vermont made two additional changes as Ryan Combe and Siad Haji replaced “Gato” and Labovitz. This saw The Green return to its single-striker formation.

Black Rock ended up getting its best chance in the 70th minute as a ball over the top found an attacker but Wickham was able to make the point-blank save. Five minutes later, Vermont would make another change as Sjur Drechsler replaced Bawa.

Soon after the second-half hydration break, The Green would find the back of the net for the second time. Once again Castillo created the magic on the wing, darting towards goal with the ball at his feet. The outside back slid the ball over to Bazini to ice the game away in the 83rd minute.

While Vermont would probably have liked to score more, leaving a road match with a win is always worthy of praise. The Green will look to keep its unbeaten streak alive when they face Pathfinder FC in the 2024 home opener on Saturday.