Vermont Green FC continues its impressive start to the 2026 season with a 9-0 win over the Albany Rush

Head coach Chris Taylor rolled out a lineup that continued to feature changes as he looks to keep his squad fresh.

Jeremi Abonnel started in net behind a new look backline of Riley Moloney, Sebastian Pop, Nicholas McHenry, and Andrew Millar. Pop is the only holdover on the backline from the match against Boston.

Efe Aror earned another start in the midfield and was paired with Nicolas Loebus. Marco Dos Santon remained on the right wing and was flanked by Samson Kpardeh who entered the starting XI. Ryan Zellefrow was the No.10 while second-year player David Ajagbe was the lone striker up top.

90 seconds into the match Zellefrow buried home a rebound to score his first goal of the 2026 campaign and the third of his Vermont Green career.

Albany did a good job of compacting the midfield and creating pressure, even utilizing the PSG dead ball tactic as after allowing the goal it kicked the ball out of bounds in the far corner to attempt to trap Vermont.

But after the goal the Green had secured control of the match. Dos Santos continued to be impactful as he was constantly creating chances on the wing.

Additionally, Ajagbe put in a lot of hard work as a striker. He drifted back to get involved in the build-up and used his frame to win a decent number of duels and cause some turnovers. Unfortunately, his scoring ability was lacking as even though he had numerous opportunities he failed to find the back of the net.

Kpardeh had similar issues but was also effective on the wings. He was able to blow by defenders and worked hard to press and frustrate opponents. The Green would find the second goal of the evening as he blew by his defender and forced an own goal from Albany to give Vermont a 2-0 lead in the 32nd minute.

With Vermont in control of the game, there is the ability to look at the Green's play with a microscope. These are the defending champions after all so fans will be expecting some champagne soccer. One potential area of improvement is maintaining possession and limiting turnovers in the midfield.

Zellefrow nearly found his second goal in the 36th minute as Zellefrow took a shot that rocketed off the crossbar. Even up two goals, Vermont was not satisfied. In the 40th minute Kpardeh once again blew by a defender and found a trailing Dos Santos who blasted the ball into the back of the net to give the Green a 3-0 lead.

Heading into the locker room after 45 minutes, Vermont could be pleased with how it performed. It controlled the game throughout the first half and could have had even more goals with more clinical finishing. The only real area of improvement is being smarter with the ball and not gifting Albany any chances.

But Vermont hit another gear in the second half.

The Green subbed on Diego Rosas and Tyler Caton with Dos Santos and Aror coming off. Rosas made an immediate impact, sending a cross into the box in the 48th minute. While Ajagbe whiffed on the header, he found the ball at his feet and didn't let the chance go to waste and made it a 4-0 game.

Then in the 52nd minute, Zellefrow found his second goal of the evening. Ajagbe won a long ball deep in the box and he sent a pass across goal that found the midfielder all alone to make it a 5-0 game.

The demolishing continued as Rosas and Zellefrow executed a press perfectly and forced a turnover in the final third. The winger got on the ball and neatly put it in the back of the net in the 55th minute.

After scoring three goals in 10 minutes, Vermont would add a seventh goal in the 61st minute. Zellefrow sent a ball into the center of the box and Moloney buried it with a blistering low shot.

After the goal, Vermont would make three changes as Zellefrow, Afor and another player was replaced by Connor Miller, Jeremy Francou, and Halim Bangura.

In the 63rd minute, Francou added another goal to his season tally courtesy of Diego Rosas. The winger sped off towards goal and sent a cross into the box and on his first touch the striker found the back of the net in the 63rd minute.

In the 73rd minute, Ajagbe was replaced by Arnold Matshazi.

Abonel made his first crucial intervention in the 79th minute as he tipped a free kick from close range over the bar.

Rosas added another great assist as his cross found the head of Matshazi in the 84th minute to cap off the evening.

Vermont's next game is against  Black Rock FC on Wednesday.