Vermont Green FC secured its second win of the USL League Two season over the Boston Bolts on Tuesday afternoon. The Green have won by a combined scoreline of 6-1.
"The start is especially crucial, just with having a bigger target on our back this year," Vermont Green FC head coach Chris Taylor told The Blazing Musket. "Seacoast away, Boston Bolts away were two really difficult games to start with, to be honest, it wasn't something that we were taking lightly at all. I'm really happy and excited that we took care of business in both games with a higher degree of comfortability that came from the guys being really locked in the entire time. It's a big start, because it can't be underestimated that these are not easy games to do on the road."
Vermont has done this without some of its more well known names, particulary Niklas Herceg and Ryan Zellefrow. The Green have taken a committee approach to replacing these two important players.
Between the sticks, Ryan Carney and Jeremi Abonnel earned starts. Carney earned a clean sheet against Seacoast in Vermont's season opener.
"We haven't had either of them too long," Taylor said. "Carney's a bit of a younger prospect that's got a really high ceiling, and it was really great to get him a start, and he kind of dealt with it with ease. Jeremi's only been with us a day, wanted to get a look at him. He's got a great pedigree, great background. You look at him and and you feel safe when you see him in goal. So we're excited, we've got some other guys as well that are training and ready to step up."
Up front, Vermont has two strikers that were able to make an immediate impact. Arnold Matshazi opened the tab for Vermont in the Seacoast match while Jeremy Francou scored just eight minutes into the match against the Bolts.
Taylor noted that the strikers have different profiles and was particulary pleased with Francou.
"Having your number nine score in their debut in each game is big," Taylor said. "Arnold, very much a penalty box guy, very good movement, really sharp in the box. When he gets inside the 18 he doesn't miss much. [We're] trying to get him to be a bit more involved in the play and the build up, but if he scores goals, we'll be happy with that.
"Jeremy is a different profile, really big frame, lot of power, bit of pace about him," Taylor added. "His goal today was fantastic on the half turn, and just so much power, technique, and quality in his goal. That is something that maybe we didn't have last year, a number nine that we were really relying on for a lot of goals. We scored by committee, and we'd love to have a real trusted nine up there. Every game we're going to rotate and see who fits for each game, and hopefully the nines continue to put the chances away."
While there have been a lot of changes, the backline is steadied by the returning Brandon Marshall. The center back is serving as a captain this year and Taylor noted that he has already seen an improvement in his play compared to 2025.
"It's really nice to see the evolution of Brandon," Taylor said. "He was a very good player last summer, but we saw it in the Open Club, and we're seeing it now he's gone up a level. You can see that the shoulders are standing up tall, and it's like, 'yeah, I'm ready to step forward and help lead the team.'
"Brandon has taken the lead with this team on a daily basis, Taylor added. "We love to see guy's growing within the club. It feels like he's one of ours, and we love to see him take that step forward and evolve and grow with us."
For a club defending a championship, the campaign couldn't have started better. The club has laid a good foundation as it looks to capture trophies once again in 2026.
Now Vermont can look forward to returning to Virtue Field. The Green take on the Albany Rush on Friday evening.
