5-0 victory against CS Saint-Laurent | Green sweetens its beak in the Maple Cup

“Our maple syrup is better than yours!” chanted the Green Mountain Bhoys on Wednesday night in Burlington during the Maple Cup between the Vermont Green and CS Saint-Laurent.

A cavalier statement from the Green supporters group, no doubt. What did the Quebec players wearing the American team’s jersey think of it?

After winning the friendly match convincingly by a score of 5-0, not only did the Greens perpetuate the local tradition of drinking a good sip of maple syrup from a small container, they also made the Cup a goblet from which to indulge their sweet tooth.

“It’s staying in Quebec!” Nathan Siméon, who arrived in Vermont for this summer 2024 season after two years in San Francisco, told us. “Even though I play here, Quebec will always have the best maple syrup for me.”

Former Impact Academy player Daniel Pacella is more cautious. “Both are really good,” agrees the Green’s starting defensive midfielder. “But when you win something, it tastes better.”

The game was played in front of a bright sun and 2,500 happy fans. The University of Vermont’s (UVM) Virtue Field was sold out. Full houses are a norm for the Green, but they are far from being the case in USL2, essentially the third division in the United States, where the team usually plays.

“It was a fantastic night,” Patrick Infurno, one of the club’s three co-founders, said on the field after the match. The sun was no longer shining, the weather had cooled down a bit, windy. But young fans were plentiful on the playing surface, all looking for autographs from these semi-professional players who are the pride of an otherwise fairly peaceful state, sportingly speaking.

“Beyond the result, it went exactly as we wanted,” Infurno continued. “A full house, people enjoying the game. There was a bit of that cup match intensity, but it was also friendly.”

This was the first edition of this Maple Cup, but the goal is to make it an annual event against the Ligue 1 champion from the previous year. This was the case for CS Saint-Laurent, who won the top honours of the Quebec circuit in 2023. There is already talk of making it a bigger event next year, potentially bringing a second match to Quebec.

After “pride”, “disappointment”

The score was harsh, but reflected the pace of the game. Despite some interesting Montreal breakthroughs, the domination was all Vermont. All five goals came from the feet of Xavi O’Neil (9^e on penalty, 54^e), by Jacob Labovitz (25^e43^e) and Yaniz Bazini (73^eon penalty).

Clearly, the loss of four of Saint-Laurent’s best players in recent weeks has had its impact on the quality of its play on the field. Loïc Kwemi, Safwane Mlah (Valour FC) and Jefferson Alphonse (Halifax Wanderers) have all found work in the Canadian Premier League, while forward Yann Toualy… came to terms with the Green early last month.

On Labovitz’s second goal, it was Yann Toualy who provided the decisive pass. The Quebecer did not celebrate in front of his former club… which did not prevent him from chasing his own goal throughout the game!

“I tried not to celebrate too much, not to show my joy too much, out of respect,” admitted Toualy, one of the Green’s best players on Wednesday. “Saint-Laurent means a lot to me. Plus, the club is going through a bad patch. It hurts me a little to see them like that. I only wish the best for this club.”

For head coach Nicholas Razzaghi, “there is no excuse for this disappointing performance.” His club raised many spirits when it beat Halifax in the Canadian Championship, which gave it a date with Toronto FC in the quarter-finals last May.

“In the Canadian Championship, we made our province proud,” he recalls. “Today, we made it very, very disappointed.”

He agrees that the club’s desire to push its players to the next level in order to reach professional levels is a “double-edged sword”.

“We’ve always wanted this. We have a lot of good players. We have to find a chemistry that works. Loïc was our reference for two and a half years. Safwane, last year, was the best player in the league. It takes an adjustment.”

Razzaghi’s counterpart at the Green, Adam Pfeifer, had nothing but good words for CS Saint-Laurent.

“We didn’t want the trophy to end up on the other side of the border,” he assured our microphone and a few local media cameras. “That was part of the conversation this week. We know what Saint-Laurent is capable of, the kind of players they have. We saw the players who signed pro contracts just this week. It’s a top club. We’re happy to be able to share [le terrain]. »

Did you get to taste the maple syrup too, Adam?

“Yes, it was excellent!”

Which is the best ?

” No comment. “