Males’s Soccer Chosen as America East Preseason Favourite; 5 Catamounts Earn All-Conference Honors

BOSTON – Vermont males’s soccer has been chosen as preseason favorites within the America East Conference for the second straight season. The defending National Champions had 5 Catamounts obtain preseason All-Conference honors because the league introduced the outcomes of the 2025 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll on Wednesday.
 
RELATED LINKS
America East Release
2025 Schedule | 2025 Roster
 
Voting was carried out by the league’s head coaches, who weren’t allowed to vote for their very own workforce or student-athletes.
 
The Catamounts picked up all seven attainable first-place votes and scored a complete of 49 factors within the ballot. New Hampshire was chosen to complete in second, garnering 40 complete factors adopted by Bryant in third with 38 factors and one first-place vote. UMBC wrapped up the highest 4 in fourth with 33 complete factors whereas NJIT got here subsequent in fifth with 21 factors. Binghamton was chosen sixth adopted by UMass Lowell and UAlbany who every tied for seventh.
 
Maximilian Kissel, David Ismail, Ryan Zellefrow, Nick Lockermann, and Niklas Herceg took up 5 of the attainable 11 spots on the Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
Kissel returns for his senior season with the Catamounts after incomes NCAA All-Tournament Team honors, America East All-Conference Second Team honors, and NCAA Tournament Offensive Most Outstanding Player recognition in 2024. The ahead from Wiesbaden, Germany tallied 24 factors on 11 targets (second most on workforce) and two assists throughout his junior season, together with the game-winning aim in extra time to carry Vermont previous Marshall 2-1 within the NCAA Championship recreation. Kissel led the complete nation with six game-winning targets (profession excessive), and his 11 complete in the course of the 2024 season is tied for sixth most in a single season in UVM males’s soccer historical past.
 
Ismail enters his second season as a Catamount coming off a junior marketing campaign recording 10 factors on three targets and 4 assists. The Bayreuth, Germany native scored a viral spotlight reel game-winning aim towards Hofstra within the second spherical of the NCAA Tournament, serving to propel UVM to the subsequent spherical. Ismail was essential for Vermont within the postseason, general notching two targets and one help all through the 2024 NCAA Tournament. In 2024, Ismail appeared in 21 matches for Vermont, beginning in 20 of these matches.
 
A local of Berywn, Pennsylvania, Zellefrow returns to UVM for his sophomore season after showing in all 24 matches in 2024, beginning in 18 of these matches. He registered two targets and two help as a primary 12 months and performed an important position for the Catamounts in the course of the 2024 NCAA College Cup.
 
Lockermann steps into his junior marketing campaign after lacking 17 matches in 2024 because of damage. Lockermann lands on the America East Preseason All-Conference workforce for the second 12 months in a row. He turned the seventh Catamount to win America East Rookie of the Year in 2023. In his first 12 months, the defender from Nuremberg, Germany earned begins in all 21 matches and performed 90 minutes or extra in 17 contests. Lockermann registered a team-high seven assists, which ranked second in America East. He was named to the All-Northeast Third Team.
 
Herceg enters his sophomore season after an unimaginable first 12 months marketing campaign, incomes quite a few accolades together with NCAA Tournament Defensive Most Outstanding Player, NCAA All-Tournament Team, America East All-Conference Second Team, America East All-Rookie Team, and America East All-Championship Team. The goalkeeper from Alsdorf, Germany completed his first-year season with a 12-1-3 report and led the nation in save share (0.851) and ranked fourth in targets towards common (0.67). Herceg posted six shutouts in 16 matches began. His 0.67 GAA was the third greatest GAA in a single season in UVM males’s soccer historical past. He allowed simply three targets with 29 saves over 565:22 minutes in all six NCAA Tournament matches (0.42 GAA).
 
2025 AMERICA EAST MEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
Pl.           School                                   Pts. (1^st)
1.             Vermont                                49 (7)
2.             New Hampshire                     40
3.             Bryant                                    38 (1)
4.             UMBC                                    33
5.             NJIT                                       21
6.             Binghamton                           17
T7.          UMass Lowell                         13
T7.          UAlbany                                  13
 
2025 AMERICA EAST MEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Men’s Preseason All-Conference
F               Ryan Calheira (UMBC)
F               Maximilian Kissel (Vermont)
F               David Ismail (Vermont)
F               Marc Pitarch (Bryant)
M             Santiago Blasco Gomez (Bryant)
M             Matteo Brossel (New Hampshire)
M             Ryan Zellefrow (Vermont)
D              Tibo Jacobs (Bryant)
D              Nick Lockermann (Vermont)
D              Max Voigt (New Hampshire)
GK          Niklas Herceg (Vermont)
 
 
The defending National Champions kick off the 2025 season at residence, internet hosting Sacred Heart on Thursday, August 21 at 6 p.m. from Virtue Field for the workforce’s season opener. The Catamounts will then keep at residence for a day matchup with Boston University on Sunday, August 24 at 1 p.m.
 
For information and updates concerning the Vermont males’s soccer program, observe @UVMmsoccer on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and go to UVMathletics.com.

EastRise Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont soccer