Two pillars of the Vermont men’s soccer team’s stunning NCAA Division I championship run heard their names called in the MLS SuperDraft on Friday.
The Colorado Rapids selected midfielder Sydney Wahuta with the No. 16 pick, and New York FC took defender Max Murray with the No. 17 pick. Wathuta and Murray started their week with Vermont’s 2–1 win over Marshall in the championship game on Monday in North Carolina.
“Look, we’ve always had to prove people wrong, and I think that can with the right outlook,” Vermont head coach Rob Dow told the Epoch Times. “It can provide, you know, strength and confidence in our own group with a chip on our shoulder to go and prove to people that we’re the best team in the country, you know.”
Vermont went 16–2–6 but didn’t draw a seed for the NCAA tournament. The Catamounts knocked out Iona 5–0, No. 7 Hofstra 2–1, San Diego 1–0 in overtime, and No. 2 Pittsburgh 2–0 on the way to the College Cup.
“You know, we just won in so many different ways and found a way to win,” Dow said.
He called the Pitt win the turning point after a cross-country trek following the win over San Diego. Vermont kept going in the Final Four with a 4–3 win on penalty kicks over No. 3 Denver on Dec. 13 to set up the title game against Marshall, a program that took the title in 2020.
Murray, a graduate student, tallied four goals and four assists during the season as he completed his Catamount career with 18 goals, including six game winners, and 10 assists. A sophomore, Wathuta had 14 assists and a goal for the season as he finished his collegiate career with three goals and 15 assists.
“And they deserve it,” Dow said about Wathuta and Murray ahead of the draft. “They proved to the country that they can, you know, beat every young talent in the country, every other young talent.”
Dow mentioned Murray as one of the veteran leaders who built the program into a champion. The coach also mentioned graduate student defender Zach Barrett, senior defender Adrian Schulze, and redshirt senior forward Yaniv Bazini as players who grew into leaders over their years in the program.
“They listened (and) … the torch has been passed,” Dow said. “They took that job seriously, but they did it their way.”
“Zach Barrett is an ultra winner, you know, in every game, every practice, every exercise, he wants to win, and that’s exemplified in the group,” Dow added. “Max Murray is such a really good person and connects with everybody and … demands accountability. Yani Bazini is a big game player, you know, and people just like your goalkeeper, right?”
Overall, the Catamounts had eight graduate students, four seniors, and three juniors on the roster. That said, underclassmen such as Wathuta played a major role, and Dow anticipates that younger players will keep the program’s momentum rolling.
“And now … we want to repeat so we’re going back to this plan, and we’re, we’re, we’re tweaking it, and we want to sustain this level of success,” Dow said.
