The University of Vermont men’s soccer team is making Catamount history this season, advancing to the semifinal round of the NCAA’s Division 1 tournament for the first time in history as the team chases a national championship.

The Catamounts have won four-straight NCAA tournament games, including their latest victory over No. 2 Pittsburgh on Saturday. The 2-0 quarterfinal win saw second half goals from junior forward Maximilian Kissel and senior Yaniv Bazini.

“One of our players made a replica of this National Championship trophy and brings it with us on the road, and that’s what our eyes are set on,” head coach Rob Dow said at a post-game press conference on Saturday. “It’s been a vision of ours and we talked about it starting in January.”

The Catamounts next play the No. 3 seed University of Denver Pioneers in a semifinal game this Friday at 5 p.m. in Cary, North Carolina. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

UVM’s postseason march began last month when the team won the America East Conference title game over Bryant University, securing a spot in the national tournament. They’ve since gone on to beat Iona University, Hofstra University, the University of San Diego and the University of Pittsburgh in the NCAA tournament.

The Catamounts had advanced to the quarterfinals in two of the past three years – but had never made it to the Final Four, known as the College Cup, until now.

Dow has now coached his team to the most NCAA tournament wins of any D1 men’s soccer program in the country, with nine wins since 2022, according to the UVM athletic department.

Graduate student and defensive player Zach Barrett said the team is confident it can keep winning.

“It doesn’t really matter who we’re playing, it’s more about what we do,” he said at the Saturday press conference.

A win Friday against Denver would place UVM in the College Cup National Championship game on Dec. 16 to play for the 2024 NCAA title.