Vermont men’s soccer solved UMBC’s stingy defense in the knick of time. The Catamounts then solved their recent conference tournament woes.

Vermont’s reward? A chance to claim the America East championship on home turf and reach the NCAA Tournament on its own terms.

Yaniv Bazini scored a late equalizer and then delivered a dazzling walk-off winner in double overtime as the No. 2-seeded Catamounts rallied past No. 3 UMBC for a 2-1 victory in front of 1,328 at Virtue Field during Wednesday’s league semifinals.

“What a player Yaniv is. He showed up. He’s a big-game player,” UVM’s eighth-year coach Rob Dow said.

Vermont, which racked up five NCAA Tournament wins over the last two seasons despite no victories in its own conference playoffs over that span, will host the America East championship game vs. No. 4 Bryant on Sunday afternoon.

The Catamounts (10-2-5) and the Bryant Bulldogs (10-5-4), who knocked off No. 1 New Hampshire in a penalty shootout Wednesday, will square off at 1 p.m. at Virtue Field. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Trailing 1-0 at the break following Loc San’s finish in the 43rd minute, Vermont, of course, found the tying tally late in regulation: Bazini’s goal with less than 14 minutes to go was the team’s 14th in the 75th minute or later this season. To level the contest, Zach Barrett lifted a ball to the top of the 18 for Max Murray, who nodded toward goal for Bazini to half-volley with a chip over UMBC goalie Emigdio Lopez (nine saves).

It was the first time UMBC (8-7-4) conceded a goal in over 470 minutes.

“These are the guys that we have to go to in this time of the year,” Dow said of Barrett, Murray and Bazini. “We stayed to it and we stuck to the game plan, more guys stepped up off the bench.”

Vermont, ranked 17th in the country, finished with decided edges in shots (23-6), corners (12-0) and fouls (25-16). But the Catamounts required more late magic to avoid a penalty shootout and potentially find themselves hoping for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in the event of a loss.

“We were focusing on this semifinal game only. We’ve been playing with that type of pressure all season long,” Dow said. “That builds a team when we keep winning or we keep getting important results. So when we come into these important games, we are strong.

“It’s desire over desperation, desire to win a championship.”

Bazini’s winner arrived in the 106th minute. David Ismail played a ground pass into the box for Bazini. With his back to the goal, Bazini deftly turned in a flash to create space between two UMBC defenders before poking the ball past Lopez for the senior forward’s 25th career goal as a Catamount.

“The moment we ended our last game, we knew this was the most important (game). It’s do or die,” Bazini said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment ever since. Now we have one more.”

The Catamounts will chase their first America East tournament title since 2021 and 14th appearance overall at the NCAA Tournament. They have been to the NCAAs in each of the last three years, reaching the quarterfinals in 2022 and the Round of 16 last fall.

Catamounts reap America East Conference major awards

Senior Zach Barrett was named the defender of the year, sophomore Sydney Wathuta nabbed the top midfielder honor and the Vermont coaching staff was feted, the America East Conference announced Tuesday for its major awards.

Barrett anchored a Catamount defense that conceded a league-low five goals during conference play. Barrett is the third Catamount and first since Connor Tobin in 2008 to pick up the defender award.

Wathuta is the first player in program history to be named the league’s top midfielder. Wathuta leads America East and is third nationally with 11 assists.

UVM bench boss Rob Dow and his assistant coaches were selected as the staff of the year. Vermont earned a share of the conference’s regular-season crown for the first time since 2019. Dow is assisted by Brad Cole, Rory Twomey, Brendan Pulley and Mack Walton.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.