What was your initial reaction when you saw Kissel get around the goalie and you realized that you won a national championship?
“Well, I knew that goalkeeper was, you know, phenomenal, so I was hoping that Max would hit it low. You know, because the keepers got to recover and get off his feet a little bit to have a chance of saving the shot. So, when he scored, it was such a wild emotion of sadness and excitement and pride. You know, the fact that we were able to win a national championship for the program and the university and the state – [and] saying all that in one [sentence] is pretty amazing.”
Looking back on the season, what do you think was the turning point that set you on the path to this national title?
“We battled a lot of injuries throughout the season. It was hard to get continuity in our lineup. But, I felt like our UMBC semi-final win in the American East was our best performance, and was [the] time we were the most healthy, and we found a way to win in overtime, and at that point we just, you know, then we won out after that.”
What was the key to all the last-minute goals throughout the tournament, and how did your team stay in the game after you went down?
“Yeah, that’s a really good question a lot of people are asking me because it’s hard to put a finger on one specific thing, but I think that’s the point, right? So we’ve won games [in] a lot of different ways, whether it was late goals in the game, coming back, going up early, PKS, overtime wins, [or the] overtime PK win. So we’ve hit a lot of adversity, and going down in a game is just like a little bump in the road. And we just, we built a level of resiliency that was able to handle most things, and it became a thing that [we] go in and [we] score [and] we will continue to get better in the match.”
What does this national championship mean for the UVM men soccer program and what are your hopes for its future?
“This isn’t luck, we don’t have one [lucky] year. It’s something that’s been building for a decade, and you know, specifically the last four years being in the tournament, So even further than that, what it means to the program, it’s more so like what it means to this state and the University, and it’s so powerful to hear the stories about how people were watching the game, who they were watching it with, their closest family members and friends, and the excitement people had with the win and how it brings our state even closer together – and we’re just lucky to be a part of that.”
What lessons have you learned this season that could apply to a BHS student?
“Stay in the moment. Take your priorities one step at a time. Don’t focus on the past. Don’t focus too much on the future. Have your goals stick to the process. Study hard. You know, just as an example, Niklas Herceg was studying until one o’clock in the morning after our semi-final NCAA Tournament win to be ready for a three hour exam the next day. So keep your priorities straight and take it one step at a time.”
