Vermont Green Head Coach Chris Taylor speaks with a thick Scouse accent that is both hard to understand but equally authentic in its soccer pedigree. When someone sounds like they're from Liverpool, you just assume they know what they’re doing on the soccer pitch. That assumption would be correct in Taylor’s case as he just led his club to their first USL League Two championship.

“It’s been pretty wild. I begged my way onto the staff the first year. I didn’t know [previous Vermont Green Head Coach and current Sporing Director] Adam Pfeifer that well, but I knew soccer was coming to life in Vermont. I knew that if something was going to happen this close to me, I wanted to be involved with it,” says Taylor about his first brushes with Vermont Green. After three years as an assistant, it was finally time for Taylor to take the reins and allow Pfeifer to wear the singular title of Sporting Director. But Taylor had been asked a season before to take the title of head coach, but he wasn’t quite ready. “I just needed to get my feet under me at the USL League Two level, working with the top players in the country.” But halfway through last season, he finally felt ready and Pfeifer was “over the moon” to hand over the role.

In fact, while Taylor should own this championship as his own, he’s quick to credit the recruiting work of Adam Pfeifer as one of the key reasons for his team’s success. “The work he did, the players he supplied me with, it’s unbelievable. I had a collection of the best college players in the country.” He was able to leverage that depth to build a team with confident and match-ready players that filled not just his starting lineup, but also down the bench. “We didn’t start the same lineup the entire season. It’s unheard of! I could bring stars off the bench.”

The crowd was well beyond capacity, filling the lot next to the stadium as well. *Photo Credit: Vermont Green FC / Patrick McCormack*

Taking the Next Step

Over the course of his four years with the club, both as an assistant and now as head coach, Chis has watched this club grow from an idea to one of the best amateur clubs in the country and a national champion. “I don’t think anyone really expected what we saw on Saturday night. That was beyond our wildest dreams!” He continued, thinking back over the years. “I remember our very first home game against Black Rock FC, a thousand people showed up. We were over the moon…a few of us said, ‘we’ll probably go down from here,’ but it’s gone from strength to strength.”

In an interview with Vermont Green co-founder Patrick Infurna last year, Infurna discussed the careful way the club has focused on growing in “a sustainable way,” and Chris’s development into his position reflects that careful approach, choosing the right time to level up. This season has been proof that Taylor was right to wait for the perfect moment and that moment is now. Vermont went 11-3-0 in its USL2 regular season run, winning the Northeast Division by three points. In the playoffs, the undefeated streak continued with Green beating Hudson Valley 4-1 and then FC Motown 3-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The conference championship went to extra time, but it was still a 3-1 win over Lionsbridge. The USL League Two semifinal finished 0-0 against Dothan United. But again, Taylor’s team triumphed 4-2 in penalties.

Crowning A Champion

The drama only increased in the championship match against former champion Ballard FC. “Ballard was easily the toughest team we played all year,” Taylor said when asked about the matchup. “We had a game plan to stop their attacking players, but we couldn’t hold them the entire match. It was a real back and forth match...they gave their best, and the game could have gone either way.” While Vermont scored first, Ballard struck back less than 10 minutes later.

Julien Le Bourdoulous celebrates after scoring the opening goal. *Photo Credit: Vermont Green FC / Patrick McCormack*

And that’s where the match held for the final 30 minutes, but Vermont was getting the better chances. Taylor could feel the momentum shifting on the sideline. “I didn’t know when the goal was coming…but I told the players on the bench, ‘the longer this game goes, the stronger we get.’” The strength of his bench allowed substitutions that bolstered his attack as Ballard began to tire. One of those subs came at halftime, when Maximilian Kissel entered the match. Kissel had scored the overtime winner in the National Championship for the University of Vermont in December. As he entered the match, Taylor asked Maxi “Can you just do what you do?” Kissel responded “Of course.”

45 minutes later, he’d score another National Championship winner.

Taylor wasn’t surprised. “He’s got this real laid back nature to him. You can get why he scores goals in big moments. He’s so calm, so collected…you can’t coach that.”

The match-winner. *Photo Credit: Vermont Green FC / Patrick McCormack*

The final goal would come from Maxi’s foot. Deep in a crowded box in stoppage time, he found the ball and put it in the back of the net. The crowd exploded in exaltation. It was a moment that the fans had looked towards since the founding of the club and now it was here.

Taylor, also with Vermont since the founding, completely understood the significance. “You can’t describe it and what it meant to everyone. Football culture is about representing the community on the pitch. These fans are the story. Yeah, the players won the national championship, but the reason this is gotten so big is because of the fans. It’s because of the atmosphere they’ve created and the support they’ve given…it’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”

Fans celebrate with the trophy. Photo Credit: Vermont Green FC / Patrick McCormack

What’s next for Vermont Green is hard to say. Outsiders are demanding an expansion into USL League One and professionalism. Some have even improbably said MLS. But the truth is that Taylor and the rest of the Vermont Green leadership have always been deliberate and careful in everything they’ve done. From cultivating its ties to the community to its dedication to sustainability and environmental responsibility, this team doesn’t take a step without carefully considering how it will impact the community trust that it cherishes. Taylor’s growth and his team’s success were just the next steps in a carefully planned path.

- Dan Vaughn