VERMONT — University of Vermont’s Virtue Field in Burlington will host the USL League 2 Eastern Conference Final this Friday, July 25, after the Vermont Green Football Club made a stunning comeback against FC Motown on Sunday —  the Green scored three straight goals bringing the final score to 3-2.

This came after the Green cruised to a 4-1 victory when Arnaud Tattevin scored a hat-trick for Vermont Green FC during last Friday’s Round of 32 game against the Hudson Hammers.

“As someone trying to promote soccer in Addison County, it’s amazing to see,” said Jeremy Palmer, a Middlebury resident deeply involved in local soccer teams.

Vermont Green FC is the state’s biggest soccer team and has seen meteoric growth in popularity since kicking off its inaugural season in May 2022. The club regularly attracts sold-out crowds, with last Friday’s tickets selling out within four minutes of release. The team’s most dedicated fans, a group known as the Green Mountain Boys, keep up the energy in the stands, chanting and dancing the team to victory and welcoming any newcomers. The Vermont Green play in USL League 2, which features 144 clubs from across the United States and Canada in a 14-match season that runs from early May to mid-July, with playoffs taking place in late-July. The league regularly sees talents who later go on to play in some of the world’s most competitive soccer leagues.

The Vermont Green is a semi-professional team, which means most of their players, who are university athletes, can continue playing soccer for their schools during the academic year while competing with the Green during the summer. Many aspire to play for professional teams. As of 2024, seven former Vermont Green players have been chosen by teams in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of soccer in the United States.

The Vermont Green plays soccer with a mission. They see soccer as a catalyst for environmental change. The club has pledged to reach net-zero emissions while donating 1% of their annual sales to nonprofits doing environmental work. Players and fans wear jerseys made from recycled fabric, volunteers collect and sort recycling at the end of each game and Ben and Jerry’s doles out free ice-cream from an electric truck.

The Vermont Green has already made history. Their undefeated regular season run has seen the team make it to the USL League 2 playoffs for the first time. This puts the club two wins away from the Aug. 2 championship match, something that has Addison County soccer fans like Palmer excited.

Along with playing the sport himself, Palmer helps organize soccer programs in Addison County for people of all ages and skill levels, including Athletico Middlebury, a youth development team for children between the ages of 6 and 14. He said he’s impressed by the enthusiasm Addison County kids are showing for soccer, and that its being reflected in the growing number of opportunities they have to play soccer locally.

“Kids now are way better players than before,” Palmer said, reflecting on the years he played soccer in middle and high school.

Palmer’s sons Hayden, 13, and Calvin, 10, are also avid soccer players. Hayden said that soccer was the first sport he ever played, and that having a team of people his own age to play with had him fall in love with the game. Speaking to the Independent on the way to the Vermont Green’s playoff game last Friday, Hayden and Calvin said it was amazing to be able to root for a local team and see them play live in their own community.

Leon Brody, a goalie for both the Vermont Green and Middlebury College’s varsity soccer team, echoed those sentiments. He had previously played for a different USL League 2 team, but after watching a game against the Vermont Green from the bench, he said he just knew he had to play for the club. The Montréal native said it feels amazing to represent Middlebury College and Addison County on a professional level alongside fellow Middlebury College teammate and Vermont Green forward Will Savin.

“It’s what I love to do,” he said.

The Green have a very high standard of play, Brody said, which serves them well in a competitive league full of dedicated teams. But he added that he feels totally in his place on the team, and that the skills he’s developing will definitely help him when playing for Middlebury College in upcoming soccer seasons.

Brody also pointed to the Vermont Green’s international squad, which hosts players from as far afield as Portugal, Libya, Senegal and Japan. Brody said the club’s efforts to sign people from around the world is putting Vermont on the map for professional soccer.

“It’s super cool when you can gather people to play for a team like the Vermont Green,” he said.

Brody said that he’s proud to be strengthening the community’s relationship with the team, noting that the Green are also dedicated to fostering young talent in Vermont and run workshops with local youth teams like Addison United and Athletico Middlebury.

The rising sophomore at Middlebury College hopes more local kids can get into soccer, saying he was really impressed by the sports infrastructure available to Vermont kids and that the resources for those wanting to get into the sport are at their best.

“If there’s a time to play soccer in Vermont, it’s now,” he said.