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Vermont Green women's team played its first home match as a member of USL-W and came away with the club's first competitive win earning a 2-1victory over Hudson Valley Crusaders in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday, May 23.
It did not take long at all for Vermont Green to score its first goal as a competitive club. It took even less time than the 90 seconds Ryan Zellefrow needed to open up the 2026 season for the men's team a night earlier on Friday, May 22.
"We took inspiration from the boys game yesterday in that early goal," head coach Abby Carchio said. "It's important to get that result in front of the home fans and I talked to them pregame about giving back to this community for what they are giving us and that's what we did."
Lauren DeGroot made a quick pass to Georgina Clarke right out of the gate. The Boston College midfielder worked her way around a defender firing a shot from just outside the box. The first Vermont Green shot of the day found the back of the net just 54 seconds into the match.
Clarke's tally was Vermont Green women's team's first goal as a member of USL-W after the team played to a 0-0 draw on Tuesday, May 19. It sent the Virtue Field crowd into a frenzy providing 12th-woman like atmosphere to the team.
Hudson Valley Crusaders tied the game up in the seventh minute with Emmanuella Frimpomaa capitalizing on a rebound after Green's goalie Blythe Braun earned the initial save.
That was the only error Braun made in this back-and-forth affair match. Vermont Green scored what turned out to be the game winner in the 27th minute. Brooke Birtwistle delivered a perfect free kick towards the far post. Captain Violet Rademacher was there at the right place, diving for the ball with her head deflecting the ball into the net.
"A diving header has been on my bucket list forever," Rademacher said. "Putting my body on the line especially for this team, the fans, for everybody here it was an amazing experience."
Rademacher is one of the returners from the 2025 exhibition team and made her mark in front of the home fans. During last year's two exhibition games, Rademacher was a key player recording a goal and an assist.
Clarke and former University of Vermont forward DeGroot are also returners from the 2025 exhibition contests providing some continuity on the field.
The Crusaders (1-1-1) entered the match leading the Northeast Division with four points and now the Green will move up the standings after grabbing three points.
"It's just a great start for the Green and we are expecting such a great season," Rademacher said. "We have such a good group of girls and a great coaching staff."
Both teams had some looks in the second half, but the defenses stood strong thwarting those opportunities. Vermont (1-0-1) outshot Hudson Valley 8-5.
Braun made a few other saves late in the second half to preserve the Green's one-goal lead.
The Vermont Green women's team will return to Virtue Field on Friday, May 29 when it hosts Lakeshore SC for the 2026 Maple Cup game.
Contact Judith Altneu at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont Green women's team capture first win as USL-W member
Continue reading...
It did not take long at all for Vermont Green to score its first goal as a competitive club. It took even less time than the 90 seconds Ryan Zellefrow needed to open up the 2026 season for the men's team a night earlier on Friday, May 22.
"We took inspiration from the boys game yesterday in that early goal," head coach Abby Carchio said. "It's important to get that result in front of the home fans and I talked to them pregame about giving back to this community for what they are giving us and that's what we did."
Lauren DeGroot made a quick pass to Georgina Clarke right out of the gate. The Boston College midfielder worked her way around a defender firing a shot from just outside the box. The first Vermont Green shot of the day found the back of the net just 54 seconds into the match.
Clarke's tally was Vermont Green women's team's first goal as a member of USL-W after the team played to a 0-0 draw on Tuesday, May 19. It sent the Virtue Field crowd into a frenzy providing 12th-woman like atmosphere to the team.
Hudson Valley Crusaders tied the game up in the seventh minute with Emmanuella Frimpomaa capitalizing on a rebound after Green's goalie Blythe Braun earned the initial save.
That was the only error Braun made in this back-and-forth affair match. Vermont Green scored what turned out to be the game winner in the 27th minute. Brooke Birtwistle delivered a perfect free kick towards the far post. Captain Violet Rademacher was there at the right place, diving for the ball with her head deflecting the ball into the net.
"A diving header has been on my bucket list forever," Rademacher said. "Putting my body on the line especially for this team, the fans, for everybody here it was an amazing experience."
Rademacher is one of the returners from the 2025 exhibition team and made her mark in front of the home fans. During last year's two exhibition games, Rademacher was a key player recording a goal and an assist.
Clarke and former University of Vermont forward DeGroot are also returners from the 2025 exhibition contests providing some continuity on the field.
The Crusaders (1-1-1) entered the match leading the Northeast Division with four points and now the Green will move up the standings after grabbing three points.
"It's just a great start for the Green and we are expecting such a great season," Rademacher said. "We have such a good group of girls and a great coaching staff."
Both teams had some looks in the second half, but the defenses stood strong thwarting those opportunities. Vermont (1-0-1) outshot Hudson Valley 8-5.
Braun made a few other saves late in the second half to preserve the Green's one-goal lead.
The Vermont Green women's team will return to Virtue Field on Friday, May 29 when it hosts Lakeshore SC for the 2026 Maple Cup game.
Contact Judith Altneu at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont Green women's team capture first win as USL-W member
Continue reading...
