It seems a little anticlimactic to put the winner in the title, but here we are.

This year’s nomination list was a who’s who of lower league soccer, featuring clubs that had won trophies in most of the national lower leagues, including UWS, NPSL, WPSL, USL2, and USL1. Those clubs were Sporting CT, Hickory FC, Edgewater Castle, One Knoxville, and, of course, the winners, Vermont Green. All of them were worthy of the award, but, in a year of such excellence, only the best could raise the trophy.

Before we get to that club, we must share that the runner-up in fan voting was NPSL Champion Hickory FC. Hickory had an absolute amazing season on the field, winning their league and drawing support almost unheard of in lower league soccer. Congratulations to the North Carolina club and we can’t wait to see what comes next in your story.

But to the victors go the spoils and to Vermont Green goes the award. We wrote about their amazing year in our nomination article, winning a USL2 title, launching a women’s team, playing in front of massive crowds in Burlington, focusing on environmental impact, the list went on and on. To quote myself “Vermont Green, the darlings of lower league soccer. The team so sweet, it’s impossible to hate them. Another spectacular year of growth, but this time with a national crown to top it off.”

Congratulations to Vermont Green, the 2025 Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year.

- Dan Vaughn