Vermont Green FC, the Burlington-based semi-professional soccer club, is set to host professional team Portland Hearts of Pine in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday.
This is the second time in its five seasons that the Green qualified to play in the Open Cup — the United States’ longest ongoing soccer competition. And the contest marks the Green’s first return to play since capping off an undefeated 2025 USL League Two season with a 2-1 national championship win over Seattle’s Ballard FC in August.
The Open Cup gives Vermont a unique opportunity to test its mettle against the fully-professional Hearts, who hail from USL League One. The matchup versus Portland has also continued to raise the national profile of the two New England clubs, which both had deep playoff runs in 2025.
Adam Pfiefer, Vermont Green FC’s sporting director, has been anticipating the matchup against the pro club, as well as the opportunity for VGFC’s organizers and players to all be together again, something that has not happened since last summer’s USL2 championship victory.
“Obviously, we’re competing on different levels, with very different sets of rules… but we’re incredibly excited,” Pfiefer said.
Hearts of Pine competed in its first-ever season last year. The club reached the third round of the U.S. Open Cup and made a run to the USL1 playoff semifinals. All USL1 teams receive an automatic Open Cup qualification, while the Green booked their ticket to this year’s tournament with last year’s USL2 championship.
The March 17 matchup is one of only four first-round Open Cup matches that CBS Sports plans to broadcast on its networks.
“Our two clubs get mentioned in the same conversation of being really successful in their communities,” said Portland Hearts of Pine head coach Bobby Murphy. “What a great advertisement for what cities like Portland and Burlington can do for the game of soccer in their communities.”
Preparation is on the mind at both clubs ahead of Tuesday’s match. Portland’s squad of professionals has been together since January, practicing and playing in preseason matches as they prepared for a USL1 season-opening contest versus the New York Cosmos on March 14.
"As someone who is very competitive — and I've been lucky enough so far with Vermont Green to experience quite a bit of success — I'm going in and trying to win."Chris Taylor, Vermont Green FC head coach
The Green’s leadership, on the other hand, has had to work closely with the many colleges with whom they share players. By Tuesday’s Open Cup game, club organizers said the team will have only practiced three times.
“There are a lot of challenges that come with that,” said Pfiefer. “Every coach around the country that we are getting players from has a different take on this.”
This year marks the 111th edition of the Open Cup, a storied single-elimination tournament, which dates back to 1914. The tournament features 80 of the best and brightest American teams, from open division and amateur clubs to Major League Soccer teams.
The Green first competed in the tournament in 2024, defeating USL1’s Lexington SC 4-3 at home in the first round before falling 2-1 to MLS Next Pro club Carolina Core FC.
“2024, at the time, felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Green Head Coach Chris Taylor, who served as an assistant coach under Pfiefer during the 2024 season. “Obviously, since then, we've had some things that are comparable and have maybe even felt a bit better, but it was so special.”
Taylor said he’s relied heavily on the lessons learned during that Open Cup run as he prepares for this year’s tournament.
“There's a real underdog mentality. We know that it's going to be extremely difficult to pull this off,” he said. “But as someone who is very competitive — and I've been lucky enough so far with Vermont Green to experience quite a bit of success — I'm going in and trying to win.”
The match kicks off at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the University of Vermont's Virtue Field. It is sold out, but fans can watch for free on the hill behind the north goal.
