The stakes increased significantly with each consecutive game of the tournament, but Yaniv Bazini’s halftime routine remained exactly the same.
The clapping of a restless crowd gradually subsided as two zeros held their place on the scoreboard of a first-half battle between the University of Vermont and Marshall University. Bazini jogged off the pitch at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, a large stadium added to the tally of thousands of miles that the UVM soccer team had traveled to continue competing in the NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament.
He entered the locker room and assumed his place inside its concrete walls to hear from head coach Rob Dow on what needed to be done to finish the job. As the rest of the team rose to its feet in unison, Bazini took an extra second next to his locker to bring three fingers to his eyes and recite the Shema. Just as he does at halftime of every game he plays, the 2024 NCAA Championship was no different. After uncovering his eyes, Bazini joined the rest of his teammates to jog back out for the biggest second half of their lives, unaware that the next time he returned to that same place in the locker room, he would be a national champion.
Bazini’s road to securing his first championship win began on the hot turf fields of Beit Hanan, Israel, at the age of 5. He played on a variety of club teams in Israel to continue his development, first for Sektzia Ness Ziona in central Israel and later for the youth team of Hapoel Rishon Lezion for multiple seasons, a historic Israeli club whose professional team is part of Israel’s second football division.
Bazini continued playing during the COVID-19 pandemic for Yermiyahu Holon, a professional team in the third tier of the country’s football league system.
IDF to NC State
Bazini drew attention from coaches around the country as he progressed through each team and had his sights set on playing in the United States.
In 2021, after completing his mandatory Israel Defense Force (IDF) service, Bazini was offered a scholarship to play Division I soccer in the US for North Carolina State University.
“I knew that I wanted to be a soccer player from day one, so I worked hard every day to achieve my goals,” Bazini said. “I decided to go to the US because it’s the right decision for my life and career, with the bonus of getting a degree through the university and better opportunities.”
Bazini joined NC State’s team prior to the start of the Spring 2021 semester as a redshirt freshman. He started in eight of the sixteen matches he played, scoring two goals and recording two assists. The 6-foot-1 forward brought immediate impact to the field but felt that something was missing.
“I wanted to go to the school that would give me the biggest chances to continue playing because I read that the Atlantic Coast Conference had won 80% of all national championships,” Bazini said of his decision to play for NC State, a team that competed in the ACC. “I wanted to go there and get drafted because I would have better odds, but after a year, I didn’t really enjoy the soccer and wanted to go somewhere I’d be more appreciated,” he said.
After talking with the University of Vermont, Bazini concluded that the school would be a better place for him to pursue his career and decided to transfer.“I’m so glad I found Vermont, it was for sure the best college decision I ever made,” he said.
His first season with the Vermont Catamounts in 2022 was the beginning of a legendary few years. Bazini played in all 22 games with 19 starts and ranked second on the team for total goals scored with five. He scored multiple game-winning goals for the team throughout the season, including a clinching goal that sent the team to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to the eventual champions, Syracuse.
Prior to his junior season, Bazini traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina to play in the 2023 Pan American Maccabi Games with Team USA in the open men’s soccer division. The team’s coaches had invited him to play, and he was able to compete in front of his family who had flown to watch. Although the team did not win gold, Bazini was a standout player on Team USA and had an incredible time meeting fellow Jewish players and experiencing the tournament.
It had been a challenging time for Jewish people all over the world, but it was important to Bazini to attend.
“It was two months after October 7, so everything was still really fresh,” Bazini recalled. “But it felt so good to play and have this brotherhood with fellow Jews while everything was going on.”
Upon returning, Bazini had already solidified himself as a major threat in Vermont’s offense with arching runs into the box and precise passing in the attacking third of the field and continued to build off his success in Argentina and with the team with an impressive 2023 season. He started in 18 of 19 games and recorded a team-high 11 goals, 65 shots, and 26 points.
He was tied for sixth in UVM’s single-season goal records and continued scoring in the clutch with a league-best four game-winning goals. He scored multiple goals in Vermont’s NCAA tournament run, which they would lose to five-seed West Virginia in the third round. Bazini received America East All-Conference First Team, America East All-Academic Team, and United Soccer Coaches All-Northeast First team honors for his dominance last season. The best, however, was yet to come.
Bazini would go on to start all 24 matches for Vermont in 2024, totaling a career-high 1,874 minutes during his senior year. He also recorded a team and career-high 14 goals, tying him for the second most goals scored in a single season in UVM men’s soccer history, and solidifying him as the third highest goal scorer in UVM men’s soccer history with 32 career goals.
Entering the 2024 NCAA men’s soccer tournament, Bazini and his teammates were focused on taking one game at a time.
“Since I’ve been at Vermont, we’d made runs in the NCAA tournament every season, so we had experience in the tournament already,” Bazini said. “Our goal for the tournament this season was just to focus on how we’re going to win each game one at a time. We don’t care who is next, we are going to find a way to beat them,” he said.En route to the championship, an unranked Vermont team defeated multiple ranked opponents, including No. 2 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Denver, and eventually No. 13 Marshall, earning them the title of a Cinderella story. The Cinderella narrative in sports addresses a team that doesn’t seem worthy but somehow beats the odds, and UVM knew about this narrative surrounding their team, but used it as fuel for each dominant win that was to come.
“They called us underdogs because we weren’t ranked, so we crossed out the under and just wrote dogs,” Bazini said of the team’s strong and determined mentality. “We were so locked in, and our focus was the recipe for success, especially in the knockout stages,” he said. “We’ve all been on the same page throughout the whole thing, the commitment has been amazing.”
As the team inched closer to the championship game, Bazini continued as a driving force to propel the team forward. He scored in every game of the NCAA tournament up to that point, with six goals in five games, including multiple game-winners. His most impressive was an 84th minute game-tying goal that sent Vermont to the National Championship following a victorious penalty shootout.
“I was just thinking about how to help the team in the best way,” Bazini said.
“We just need opportunities on the field, and even if I’m not touching the ball the whole game, I just need one good opportunity to finish.”
Although the pressure for Bazini and UVM to score increased each game, he was unfazed in high pressure moments.
“I’ve been practicing my whole life for these big moments, so they don’t seem so big when you’re in them. I’m just so happy I was able to consistently do well throughout the tournament because I’ve worked so hard for these moments,” he said.
When Vermont prepared to face No. 13 Marshall in the championship game, the mentality remained the same as it had been all season. The team was exactly where they had planned to be, and when the final whistle blew, the weight of the entire season was lifted from their shoulders.
A physical match between two extremely talented teams led to a sudden-death overtime period to decide the winner of a 1-1 tie after regulation.
Just five minutes in, Vermont forward Maximillian Kissel secured a deep cross and dribbled past Marshall’s goalkeeper into the back of the net, turning the nervous silence of the Vermont faithful into an eruption of joy. Kissell, running into the elated arms of his teammates, had just secured UVM’s first national championship in school history in any team sport. The team also became the first America East team in league history to do so. It was the 16th goal this season in the 83rd minute or later for UVM, and it was surely the most important one.
“Don’t call them Cinderella, you can call them national champions!” shouted ESPN’s Dalen Cuff on the broadcast as the stadium erupted. Bazini embraced Kissel and the rest of his team, and ran to the stands to grab an Israeli flag that he would drape over himself for the entire postgame celebration.
“I still can’t completely comprehend it, but I know how amazing it was for the state of Vermont and Jewish people around the world who watched. I’m so grateful to be in this position,” Bazini said.
He had felt the love and support of his Jewish community back in Israel and in Burlington, Vermont since arriving at the school, and he was overwhelmed with all of their dedication in that moment.
“I didn’t know how big and supportive the community would be, but I’m so glad to be a part of it now,” he said. “They’ve been supporting me through every single thing I need and do and think about, and they’ve been there without asking for anything in return. I will be thankful and in contact with them for the rest of my life,” Bazini said.
While playing, Bazini also felt grateful to represent Israel on a big stage.
“Especially in hard times, it’s so important for Jews and Israelis to stick together and be a unit,” he said. He has constantly felt the support from all of his various communities and takes it with him onto the field. “I do Shema Yisrael before every game, at halftime. After I score, I don’t forget to thank God and connect to our roots,” he said.
He also said he understands how big of a platform he has and wants to make sure he uses it for good.
“Since October 7, I have wanted to be the best ambassador possible,” Bazini said. He wanted to go back to Israel but felt like he wouldn’t be able to help as much as he wanted, so he stayed in Vermont to “show the face of Jewish people and who we are, and disregard lies in the media.”
He has since been committed to showcasing the best for his people.
“I’m in a stage where people are looking, so if I’ve affected even one person, that’s more than enough.”
As Bazini reflects on Vermont’s incredible win and sets his sights on the future, he hopes to continue playing for many years to come.
“I want to play at the highest level in the world, which is right now in Europe, so that is my goal,” he said. “I’m working hard every moment to get closer and closer every day that passes.”
Bazini is excited to see where he will end up, but for now, is continuing to celebrate his victory for the school, the state, his country, and Jewish people all over the world.
Don’t call them Cinderella, you can call Yaniv Bazini and the University of Vermont men’s soccer team 2024 national champions.