In a top of the table clash, Seacoast United bested Vermont Green FC to take firm grasp of the Northeastern division.

Adam Pfeifer’s starting XI featured some new names as well as some familiar faces. Jaheim Wickham earned the start in net while the back line featured Gabe Threadgold and Bernardo Prego on the wings with Sjur Dreschler and Moussa Ndiaye serving as center backs.

Sam Layton and Rodrigo Vaza served as defensive midfielders in the 4-2-3-1 with Zachary Zengue playing in the No. 10 role.

Xavi O’Neil and Jackson Castro served as attacking wingers with Yaniv Bazini starting up top.

Observers of the match could tell from the jump that it would be a tense affair. Both sides were strong building out from the back and were searching for any crack in the opponent’s armor to exploit.

In the 21st minute, the course of the game would be ultimately affected as claims for hand ball were made by Vermont. The Green were given a corner but livid that the call was missed (The Blazing Musket viewed images that appeared to show a handball occurring)

Record scratch: Sorry to break the fourth wall here but this part involves myself being inserted into the story as I was sat in the corner where the non-handball call was made. Due to this, I was privy to conversations that player’s had with the sideline judge/assistant referee. The referee made a claim that the Seacoast United player had no time to react. I am not an official but to my knowledge, a player’s ability to react has no effect on making a handball call.

Moments later Seacoast would open up the scoring on a sliding curler off the foot of Taig Healy got past Wickham in the 23rd minute. Four minutes later, Seacoast would score once again, this time in a beautiful display of power and skill from Ibrahim Conde.

Vermont was simply stunned. If The Green were to even to take a point they would have to climb a massive mountain.

But two minutes after going down two goals, Vermont scored what would be its only goal of the match. Yaniv Bazini continued to be the source of the scoring, further cementing his place as a club legend. The striker smashed home a rebound off of a corner kick.

Then a minute later Conde secured a brace, fending off a defender and slipping the ball into the corner. Just when The Green seemed back, Seacoast slammed the door on the match shut.

Bazini nearly doubled his goal tally in the 39th minute with a beautiful display of skill. The striker lifted the ball in the air and nearly volleyed it into the net. Instead, it rocketed off the crossbar.

After 45 minutes, the scoreline read 3-1. While that would be the final score, Vermont still had plenty to play for in the match. At half, Jacob Labovits replaced Jackson Castro which also brought a formation change with two strikers on the pitch.

“When you go to two strikers you lose a midfielder so you got to make up for that with a little bit of movement,” Vermont Green assistant coach Chris Taylor told The Blazing Musket after the match when asked about the two strikers. “There’s pros and cons to everything but they [Seacoast United] played a really good shape and we’re trying to counteract that, trying to make changes on the fly against maybe one of the best teams in the country, it’s hard to do. It’s something that you know, we’ve been hoping to work on but haven’t had the time because of the schedule. Maybe a little bit more activity with the ball but it’s not fare on Jacob and Yaniv to kind of throw them out there like that and say, you know, ‘go do it.’”

Then in the 61st minute, the course of the game was changed once again. A ball was centered and Labovits appeared to poke it past the goalline but no goal was given (The Blazing Musket viewed video that appeared to show the goal crossing the line).

The Green got their attack going but it was too little too late. Second-half substitute Ernest Bawa and Zengue did a good job creating chances but Vermont couldn’t draw even.

Throughout the match, Zengue was shouting instructions and encouraging his teammates. While he might not wear the captain’s armband, it is clear that he is a natural-born leader.

“I mean, he leads by example really,” Taylor said. “We moved him around to different positions a couple of times, and we had to take him off at the end because he had nothing left. He didn’t want to come off.He is a warrior and he wants to keep fighting. We’ve got a lot of leaders but in environments like this, it’s a tough place to play. There’s a reason they’ve won the league twice in a row and so you need some experience, you need some calm heads, and you need to be able to withstand a bit of pressure. Hopefully we’ll learn from the experience of playing on the road here.”

Besides the loss, Vermont also lost Vaza who received a straight red card for a sliding challenge on a Seacoast opponent in stoppage time.

On Saturday, The Green return to play for another important match against the Western Mass Pioneers. If they want to stay in the hunt for the playoffs, a win will be required of them.