It's a big weekend for soccer fans in Vermont.
Vermont Green FC is set to host Seattle's Ballard FC for a shot at the USL League Two title on Saturday.
The Green will enter the contest as the league’s only remaining undefeated team this season, after winning two overtime playoff contests last weekend.
Vermont Public’s Nathaniel Wilson recently talked with the team's head coach Chris Taylor about the season and upcoming championship game. This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Nathaniel Wilson: How do you balance celebrating an achievement like a national championship berth while still preparing for the game itself?
Chris Taylor: Yeah, we've done a good job all season of trying to stay focused. I think coaches and the sporting staff hang out together after every single game. We do the same thing, and we take that night and we enjoy it. And then once the night's ended, it's back to work, and it's now about trying to learn about the next opponents and prepare for them.
We were having a great season anyway, but to score two goals in the dying moments to win the division gave us this kind of belief and this almost superpower that we felt, if we've come back from that to win the league against one of the best teams in the country, there's nothing we cannot do.Chris Taylor
Nathaniel Wilson: The club has sold out home games for several weeks in a row, and you've gotten to host every playoff game thus far, and you're hosting Saturday's final as well. How much of a benefit is it to play in front of the home fans?
Chris Taylor: It's been incredible, to be honest. They've had a major effect on the games, there's no doubt about that.
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A lot of the other teams aren't used to playing in front of a big crowd like that, and if they do play in front of a big crowd, it's not as boisterous as the one we have. And they're just young guys, right? So, if you make a mistake, if you're not playing well, you feel the crowd. And when we seize momentum in the game, we've seen it with the comebacks, with the late goals, with the late wins, when we start to get momentum, it's really, really hard for the other teams to handle that as the crowd gets louder and it's bouncing and, you know, they're cheering everything we do and the kind of heckling everything the other team does. So, we can't speak highly enough of the benefits of being at home with this whole community behind us.
Nathaniel Wilson: The Green have been comeback kings this month, stealing wins and draws in four contests in which they trailed. This can't be your strategy, is it?
Chris Taylor: No, definitely not. I mean, we went the entire regular season without being behind in any game until the final league game. And then, I think those five minutes at Lusitano Stadium at Western Mass kind of changed everything. We were having a great season anyway, but to score two goals in the dying moments to win the division gave us this kind of belief and this almost superpower that we felt, if we've come back from that to win the league against one of the best teams in the country, there's nothing we cannot do. It's definitely something that we wouldn't want to rely on, but will certainly win by any means possible at this point.
Nathaniel Wilson: What does it say about this group of players that they just continually scrap and claw their way to victory, even after falling behind?
Chris Taylor: I can't speak highly enough of the players, but again, I can tell anyone that they want to do it for the fans so badly. I hear the players saying, you know, think about all those kids out there in the stands, climbing on fences. They're sitting on shed roofs, they're sitting on the hill. You know, they want to do it for them.
Nathaniel Wilson: In February, speaking about UVM's national championship win, you told me, "I hope to carry on the good fortune of soccer in Vermont and hopefully keep riding that wave of momentum." As we draw closer to the end of your first season as head coach, it's hard to say that you haven't done just that. What have the successes of this season meant to you?
Chris Taylor: Means the world, I mean, I'm truly just humbled to be a part of it. We all really enjoyed what UVM did. They did what maybe a lot of people thought wasn't possible, and they showed that with the right culture, the right coaches, the right players, the right community, anything is possible, and we've benefited from that.
Nathaniel Wilson: Coach, have you allowed yourself to think of what it would be like to cap off an undefeated season with a league title?
Chris Taylor: No, honestly, and I know that's a bit of a cliche answer, but I've truly tried to stay grounded and tried to take it one game at a time. That will be an amazing achievement. But ultimately, we just want to win the next game for this community, for this fan base, because it's been they've given us so much that we want to give them as much as we can back. So, I also just want it for the players; I want them to be successful. And then, I don't think I've processed what's gone on yet, to be honest. I'm just riding it day to day and trying to do the best job I can for everyone involved.
