Vermont Green FC is authentically Vermont. The 5-year-old club has captured the imagination of Vermonters near and far, from Burlington to Bennington, from the banks of Lake Champlain to the foothills of the Green Mountains.
The amateur, USL League Two side has enjoyed loads of success in its first four seasons of existence. The Boys in Greenhave qualified for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup twice (2024, 2026), advanced to the USL League Two Playoffs three times in four years and won it all a season ago, emerging victorious in the 2025 USL League Two Final.
Unlike other clubs conceived solely with the sport in mind, Vermont Green was founded with a specific mission in mind: environmental justice. That mission has not only helped the club become a truly integral part of the Vermont ethos but helped it achieve several improbable and unforgettable moments on the pitch in just a few short years.
FOR THE GOOD OF THE PLANET, FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE
The club is operated by three of its co-founders: Sam Glickman, Patrick Infurna and Matthew Wolff—with the latter designing the club’s crest and shaping its identity—and was concocted during the COVID-19 pandemic. From its inception in 2021, the club has been rooted in justice for both the planet and its people alike.
Three of Vermont Green FC’s co-founders, Patrick Infurna (right), Sam Glickman (center) and Matt Wolff (right), at the 2025 USL League Two Final | Image Credit: Patrick McCormack
“There is no club without the mission, and there's no mission without the club,” said Infurna. “We knew that to be authentic to Vermont, authentic to Burlington, we couldn't just say we're only here to play soccer. That was never going to be enough for people who are forward thinkers and progressive in every aspect of their lives. If we wanted to do this right and be authentic to this community and reflect it in the way we believed it deserved, [the mission] always had to be part of it.
“The inclusion of mission and values in professional soccer clubs sometimes gets teams into difficult situations. Sometimes they have to ask themselves difficult questions about if they're willing to represent this, or if they're willing to represent that. We avoided that issue because we were born within this idea. When we do something that could be seen as unorthodox in other sports markets, we're not afraid of that, because it's who we are. The mission and the club were born in the same moment, so they're inseparable.”
Vermont Green’s primary mission revolves around environmental justice, a matter the club views as “a social movement that fights for the equal distribution of environmental benefits and burdens in our society.” The club interprets environmental justice as a lens through which it can understand and advocate for the interconnectedness of human rights, equality and environmental stewardship.
Key components of the overarching mission include aiming to become a net zero emission club, fighting systematic racism in soccer, being a 1% for the Planet member, producing purpose-driven merchandise, and finally, using its platform to promote education and awareness surrounding key social justice challenges.
Vermont Green FC inaugural home match against Black Rock FC in 2022| Image Credit: Patrick McCormack
“Ultimately, our mission has been to be a catalyst for a more environmentally sustainable and socially just world,” Infurna explained. “There are specifics in the way we're working with environmentally sustainable and conscious gear, with the way we're approaching our impact at games, even our toilets are recycling people's waste, all these cool things that we're doing.
“Most importantly, the thing that drives our mission is that we're trying to bring people together to support something as a community and have that be a medium for conversation, a medium for activism and a medium for people being together and discussing what is important to them, while also enjoying something. Soccer is fun. It's something you can all get behind. The most important part of what we're doing is getting people in the same place, having them collectively think about the things that are pressing in their community, and giving them the opportunity and the medium to express themselves and do something about it.”
The response from Vermonters across the Green Mountain State has been overwhelming. Despite playing at the 2,500-capacity Virtue Field on the campus of the University of Vermont, Vermont Green has routinely sold out matches, with demand so high it requires ticketless fans to pull up a chair and watch the matches from just beyond the venue’s perimeter fence.
A sold-out, overflow crowd packed in and around Virtue Field at the 2025 USL League Two Final | Image Credit: Patrick McCormack
The tremendous community buy-in has in large part been due to the club’s aligning values, and an increasing representation of Vermont on some of the biggest stages, whether it be in USL League Two’s regular or postseason, the U.S. Open Cup or even international exhibitions like the Maple Cup against clubs from the bordering Québec. The club’s even launching an amateur women’s team in the USL W League later this year thanks in part to the support from New England native and former U.S. Women’s National Team great Sam Mewis.
“This has all grown substantially over the first four seasons,” Infurna said. “We're proud of our work, but the credit belongs to the people of Vermont and the community that decided to take this idea and uplift it and support it and run with it, that Vermont Green was going to become a part of this community's identity, and it has in a major way. It's a source of pride for us.
“I've been working in the game long enough to know how hard clubs work and how hard it is to become relevant in certain markets. The beautiful thing about where we are is that Burlington is big enough and populated enough to support high-level sport, but it's also small enough and community-oriented enough that because of where we've ended up, with gratitude to the community here, we've become an important part of the community. It's something most people are aware of and getting behind.”
GREEN MOUNTAIN MAGIC IN THE SUMMER OF ‘25
Vermont Green FC raced out to a strong start in its first few seasons of existence, qualifying for the USL League Two Playoffs twice and the U.S. Open Cup once between 2022 and 2024. The club advanced to the Conference Semifinals in both previous postseason runs and stood among the final 16 teams in the USL League Two Playoffs, falling to eventual runners-up Long Island Rough Riders in 2022 and eventual champions and New Hampshire-based rivals Seacoast United Phantoms in 2024.
“We've had great teams and winning seasons,” Infurna said. “The Northeast Division of USL League Two is one of the best in the country. The last two national champions came out of this division, Seacoast United Phantoms and Vermont Green, not to mention Western Mass Pioneers, Black Rock FC and AC Connecticut. It took until our fourth season to win the division.”
The turning point for Vermont Green, as it turns out, was ignited in the final minutes of stoppage time of the club’s final regular season match of 2025 in one of the oldest soccer stadiums in the country.
Trailing 2-0 on the road against Western Mass Pioneers, the hosts were minutes away from claiming the Northeast Division for themselves. Then came the Miracle at Lusitano. At the 107-year-old Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, Mass., Vermont Green struck gold, scoring in fifth and ninth minutes of second-half stoppage time to salvage the most unlikely of draws to cap off an undefeated regular season and snatch the division title away from the Pioneers with mere seconds remaining in the regular season.
From there, momentum favored Les Verts. Vermont rattled off three consecutive victories to start postseason play before punching its ticket to the USL League Two Final via a penalty kick shootout victory in the National Semifinal against Dothan United SC.
Vermont Green FC, Ballard FC taking the field at the 2025 USL League Two Final | Image Credit: Patrick McCormack
The 2025 USL League Two Final came to Burlington on August 2, coincidentally representing the area code that covers the entire state of Vermont (802). The matchup was against Ballard FC, the 2023 champion and thrice consecutive Northwest Division winners out of Seattle, Wash. Over 5,000 fans flocked to the University of Vermont’s Virtue Field on that Saturday evening, with thousands of supporters gathering outside the stadium’s fence to get a front-row view of the action.
More than 50,000 people tuned in to the broadcast to witness a scoreless first half give way to a frenetic finish. The hosts opened the scoring in the 50th minute through French midfielder Julien Le Bourdoulous, but Ballard responded 10 minutes later, as Charlie Kosakoff leveled the match for the visitors.
As 90 minutes melted off the clock, the match remained tied at one goal apiece, and Vermont inched closer to its third consecutive extra time contest. Then came Maximilian Kissel. Less than a year after scoring the national championship-clinching winner for the University of Vermont in the 2024 NCAA Men’s College Cup Championship, Kissel again delivered. The German midfielder tapped home a bouncing ball just seconds into second-half stoppage time, sending Virtue Field into a frenzy. The goal would serve as the winner and deliver Vermont Green a league title less than five years since its inception.
Vermont Green FC celebrating with supporters after winning 2025 USL League Two Final | Image Credit: Patrick McCormack
“The 2025 season made things extremely easy for us,” Infurna shared. “The team was unbeaten. We won a national championship. We were able to play all those playoff games at home. Now we're dealing with the reality that our stadium only seats 2,500 people, and we've had season tickets sold out. The number of tickets requested for this [2026] Open Cup match was 10,800. The support we've had has been unbelievable.
“Winning USL League Two gave us access to the U.S. Open Cup. Anytime we can get in front of new audiences, that expands our mission. With the Open Cup, playing Portland Hearts of Pine on CBS Sports Network, that national broadcast is a chance for people to see Virtue Field packed and see our mission on full display.”
WELCOMING MAINE TO VERMONT
Ahead of Vermont Green’s title-defending League Two campaign this summer, the club’s attention first turns to the U.S. Open Cup in a mouth-watering, first-time matchup against Maine’s Portland Hearts of Pine; Hearts are fresh off their first season in the professional USL League One, advancing to the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup as well as the Semifinals of the USL League One Playoffs a season ago.
This year marks the second participation in the U.S. Open Cup for Vermont Green, following a 2024 run in the tournament that featured a thrilling 4-3 victory at Virtue Field against a professional club in Lexington SC. Les Vertsadvanced to the Second Round, narrowly falling to MLS NEXT Pro’s Carolina Core FC.
Vermont Green FC celebrating its First Round victory against Lexington SC in the First Round of the 2024 U.S. Open Cup | Image Credit: Spenser Powell
“Vermont Green Football Club sees the Open Cup as the most special competition in the game in this country, and we see it as a tournament worth not just protecting, but venerating and making clear that this trophy means something, and it must continue to mean something. That is something we feel very strongly about,” Infurna said. “So, to compete in the tournament [in 2024] was a high honor for us. But to get a result, to get a win in the tournament, we were on cloud nine. That game against Lexington was our standard for how we carried ourselves up until winning the national championship. You can’t speak highly enough about the magic of this.
“The way our community responded to it, the way the local media responded, again, the tournament is such a special thing because this is Burlington, Vermont. We don’t get into the national conversation much. That’s the reality of the size of the market, the size of the state, the size of the city. So, when we get to enter a national tournament and play professional teams, it’s such a source of pride for a community like this, because you get to express yourself on the national level. So much of what drives us is to be able to propel both our team and our players, but also our community, Vermonters, into a national spotlight. Just playing in the games is awesome for us. So, to win a game was beautiful.”
Now, the club is gearing up to face a Portland side that carries a similar community-first drive and ambition, and one that should bring a strong contingent over to Vermont for the First Round contest on March 17.
“People have been comparing us and Portland Hearts of Pine for over a year now, the similarities are obvious to people,” Infurna explained. “Ultimately, we are two very distinct communities in New England. While it was awesome to play Lexington [in 2024], Lexington might as well have been a million miles away for our fans. People know Portland, Maine, though. They’re intimately familiar with Maine, and this is the bedrock for what I think could be a really special rivalry between our two clubs. You only get that in the Open Cup as of now. We’re so excited by this tournament. We hope to be in it every year, because it elevates our club, gives us a sense of meaning, and puts us into a much bigger conversation that we believe we should be a part of.
“I think it’s going to be a really exciting game. Our ability to go up against professionals and bigger markets matters. Portland is about twice the size of Burlington. People don’t realize how small Burlington, Vermont is. We have nothing but respect for Portland Hearts of Pine, but we plan on competing with them and going for the win, because this is who we are and who we want to be. Proving ourselves against local professionals is a great opportunity.”
As the club gears up for its fifth season, the demand for all things Vermont Green is at an all-time high. Still, Infurna and his co-founding counterparts in Glickman and Wolff remain grounded in maintaining and developing the initial mission.
Kids running onto the pitch during a club event at Virtue Field | Image Credit: Vermont Green FC
“We see this club as ceilingless. We don’t think of our future as limited by anything,” Infurna said. “We’re quite content in USL League Two at the moment. We’re building the club at a sustainable pace, environmentally sustainable but also from a business standpoint, making sure this works. We don’t have high net worth individuals or massive backers. It’s a small business that’s been able to capture a lot of positive moments.
“With that said, we’re constantly observing the state of things in U.S. soccer, and we’ve never ruled out the possibility of eventually going up [to the professional ranks]. We want to keep growing this until we get to the point where we’re able to make the moves that best serve our club, our mission and our community. We’re always open to a future that grows this club in a way that is aligned with our mission and benefits our community.”
Vermont Green FC’s third competitive contest against a professional club and third U.S. Open Cup match is set for Tuesday, March 17 at 7 p.m. ET at Virtue Field. The match will be broadcast nationally on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network.
