BURLINGTON, Vt. - Few players are able to play for a national championship in their careers. Even fewer are able to score the title-winning goal. When the ball zipped into the penalty area in stoppage time, Maximilian Kissel slipped through the defense to knock in the goal that delivered Vermont Green FC’s its first national championship, and second time he had scored a title winning goal in eight months. 

The Green finished an undefeated season by taking down Western Conference Champions Ballard FC 2-1 in the 2025 USL League Two Final presented by VensureHR. For Vermont, the club reaches the mountain top after four years of building a deep connection with the local community that has embraced them. 

“I'm just so humbled that we get to experience this. This was easily the best experience I've ever had seeing people lining up early this morning, seeing the line down the street hours before kickoff, you can’t really describe what the community has given to us this summer,” said Vermont Green Head Coach Chris Taylor. “And the players, I’m just so happy they got to experience it.” 

“We played against a really good team,” said Vermont midfielder Julien Le Bourdoulous, who was named the 2025 USL League Two Final MVP. “We knew that in the second half when we attack this side, we won every time, so we knew it was going to be for us at the end. When we play at home you can see the atmosphere here is sensational.” 

In its 30th season, League Two featured strong competition across all 19 divisions. But two clubs were playing like an unstoppable force and an immovable object, bound to go head-to-head by the end of the campaign. 

Vermont Green stunned rival Western Mass Pioneers in the 99th minute of their season finale to steal the club’s first Northeast Division title. From there they relied on three straight comeback wins and a dramatic penalty shootout victory to reach the first Final in club history. 

Ballard FC came into the playoffs as three-time defending Northwest Division champions, but after losses in its final two regular season games, they needed a sharp start to the postseason. They bulldozed Colorado Storm in the Round of 32 and rattled off three straight 2-1 victories to reach their second final in three years. 

“That was the best team we saw all year. That might’ve been the best USL 2 game I’ve been apart of in terms of the overall quality,” said Taylor after the game. 

The Virtue Field crowd was alive from well before the ball started rolling and kept its energy going as the two teams took turns feeling each other out in the early going. The first chance on goal came from a Moussa Ndiaye header that was denied by Ballard goalkeeper Stockton Short. 

Vermont found more chances in the early going, both by Arnaud Tattevin. The French forward put the ball in the net in the 22nd minute, erupting the crowd, but he had come from an offside position and the goal was called back. Four minutes later, Tattevin received the ball in the box from the left wing and hit it just wide. 

Ballard grew more comfortable in the game, nearly drawing first blood when Joe Dale put a shot on goal from close range. But penalty kick hero Niklas Herceg kept his feet on the goal line and got his body in front of the ball to keep the match scoreless through halftime. 

Vermont got on the attack quickly in the second half and Ian Abbey won a penalty in the 48th minute. Le Bourdoulous stepped up to take it and calmly slotted it home for his second goal of the playoffs. 

With the first goal out of the way, Vermont began to take control of the match as frustration mounted for Ballard, leading to a chippy pace in the Green’s favor. 

But Ballard did not let the crowd overwhelm them and worked hard to get themselves back in the game. Working down the right flank, Omar Yehya whipped in the ball to Charlie Kosakoff, who headed it in for his fourth goal in three games, leveling the match in the 62nd minute. 

Ballard kept pressing, creating more opportunities, but Herceg was able to sweep them up and slow the visitor’s momentum. 

The game became a back-and-forth affair as it entered the final 20 minutes, with both clubs moving the ball into the attacking third. Vermont’s David Ajagbe received a through ball into the box but was met by a strong save from Short. 

Looking to make something happen, Le Bourdoulous worked toward the box, cut onto his right foot and fired the ball on frame, but Short was able to catch it and slow down the Green’s late momentum swing. 

With the clock past 90, Le Bourdoulous hit an out-swinging corner that landed beyond the penalty area. Zachary Zengue controlled the ball and sent it back into the mix, where Kissel went undetected through the defensive line to slot home the goal, engaging a frenzy across Virtue Field. 

“It’s my job. I’m a striker, I got to score,” said Kissel. “It’s my job to hunt the glory.” 

Just minutes later, the final whistle blew, and Vermont Green was crowned USL League Two champions to cap off a relentless season. 

“Since the beginning of the year, we come back at the last second, we win in additional time, we won on PKs last time and now we won at the last second; it’s crazy,” said Le Bourdoulous.