Men’s Soccer: Catamounts Score Late, Top Hartford 2-1

Posted on by George Commo

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON – UVM senior forward Justin Freitas scored in the 87th minute and lifted the Catamounts to a 2-1 comeback victory over Hartford on Saturday afternoon in America East action. Vermont improves to 8-4 overall and 2-1 in league play. Hartford drops to 1-7-4 on the year and 1-2 in the conference standings.

COACH’S QUOTE
I’ll give credit to Hartford this afternoon for coming in with a really good game plan and scoring on us early,” head coach Rob Dow said. “From our side of things and dealing with the conditions of the match, Hartford is a good defensive group and we had to find different ways to break them down.”

HOW IT HAPPENED
Hartford took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute. The Catamounts tried to clear a ball away on the left side of the box but Sergie Martinez stole the ball. The freshman moved into position and fired a low shot off the far post, but the ball bounced to left and over the goal line for the score.
UVM found the equalizer five minutes later with Geo Alves’ seventh goal of the season. From the top of the box, Freitas sent a cross through traffic into the left side. Alves collected the feed, made one move, and scorched a line drive into the center of the net.
Near the end of the first half, Vermont had a quick flurry of chances from 15 yards out. Alves had his initial shot stopped by Hartford goalie Jimmy Slayton (10 saves) and Joe Morrison tried to finish the rebound but a Hawk defender stepped in the way. Morrison gathered the rebound once again but his shot sliced wide of the near post.
In the 85th minute, Freitas ripped a shot from the left side of the box but the ball flew into the left side netting.
Freitas’ game-winning score was set up by a throw-in two minutes later. Trevor Colazzo tossed a ball towards the far post and Freitas got just enough leg behind a kick to deflect off a defender and into the left side of the net.
NOTES
The Catamounts controlled the offensive tempo of the game by winning the shots battle 24-6.
The 24 shot attempts taken by the Green and Gold matched a season-high, set against Northeastern on Aug. 31.
The match was UVM’s annual Rally Against Cancer game presented by Vermont Custom Closets.
With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate another $100 to the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, bringing this year’s total to 76 wins and $7,600.
WHO’S NEXT
Vermont will revisit non-conference play and heads to Yale on Tuesday (Oct. 9). The opening kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. The non-conference matchup will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can access ESPN+ with a seven-day free trial, followed by a subscription fee of $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with the ability to cancel at any time.