Vermont Green FC had its longest away day in its young history but managed to make it to the finals of the Steinbrecher Cup with a 0-0 win in a penalty shootout.
Seth Wilson got his second-straight start in net behind the backline of Riley Moloney, Sebastian Pop, Brandon Marshall, and Andrew Millar. Nicolas Loebus and Tyler Caton were in the midfield with Ryan Zellefrow playing as a N0. 10. Diego Rosas and Marco Dos Santos started on the wings while Arnold Matshazi was the lone striker up top.
The opening minutes of the match showed that Hickory would provide a challenge for Vermont. The Green struggled to gain entrance to the final third and Hickory had some chances to get upfield.
But as the match got closer to half, Vermont was able to rack up possession and create some chances. In the 18th minute, Marshall was gifted a chance all alone in front of goal off a free kick, but his shot was sent wide.
Javan Ochieng would make his mark on the game for all the wrong reasons for Hickory, beginning in the 24th minute when he got a yellow card for fouling Rosas. Less than 10 minutes later, he would get a second yellow and was sent off in the 33rd minute.
Vermont was unable to find a goal before half, but had all the momentum with a man advantage. At half, Rosas was subbed off in favor of Samson Kpardeh. In the 62nd minute, Matshazi and Loebus were replaced by Jeremy Francouu and Joseph Picotto.
In the 70th minute, Hickory built up an attack and had a spell of possession in the final third. Even up a man, Vermont was struggling to create chances and was running out of time before the clock hit 90 minutes. Hickory got another chance in the 74th minute off the counter, but the shot skimmed the side of the net after being deflected.
In the 77th minute, a scary moment occurred as Hickory's goalkeeper, while attempting to clear the ball, collided with Francouu, resulting in a powerful hit more fit for the gridiron than a soccer pitch. The play resulted in a penalty kick with Hickory's goalkeeper saving Picottos attempt.
In stoppage time, Vermont had all of the ball and was pushing for a goal. But the Green were unable to find the back of the net. With the match level, the game went to a penalty kick shootout.
Caton opened the shootout by scoring for Vermont. Hickory responded with a goal of its own. But Vermont would be victorious with Wilson making the only save of the shootout.
Now, Vermont will play in the final versus USASA National Amateur Cup champs West Chester United SC or 2026 USSSA National Champions League winners Azteca FC 5280.
