AILSA CHANG, HOST:
There was a big upset in men's college soccer last night. The University of Vermont Catamounts won their first NCAA championship, defeating Marshall University with a stunning goal during overtime.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER: Center back will blast it long and ask Kissel to get in a foot race with Bamford.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Forward Maximilian Kissel swerved past the opposing team's defense to give his team the golden goal and a 2-1 victory.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER: Oh, my gosh. They did it. Don't call them Cinderella. You can call them national champs.
CHANG: And if you're not a soccer aficionado, just know that a golden goal is very rare in college soccer. It's when a team scores the first goal during overtime.
SHAPIRO: So rare, in fact, that this was just the ninth time this century that a national championship had been decided by overtime or penalty kicks. In an interview with NCAA Soccer's Andrew McDevitt, Kissel said he was proud of his underdog team.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MAXIMILIAN KISSEL: I always said, it's a small school, middle of nowhere, small population. No one believes in us. No one picks us to win.
CHANG: But win they did, giving the university its first national title in any team sport. After the game, Vermont head coach Rob Dow said he was sad to see his seniors leave but was very glad that they will be exiting as champions. Here he is celebrating with the team in the locker room.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ROB DOW: For the rest of your lives, you are a national champion.
(APPLAUSE)
SHAPIRO: Congratulations, Catamounts, on a golden goal, a golden victory and making history.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) One, two, three, four. Hey, hey baby. Ooh. Ahh. I want to know if you'll be my girl. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey baby. Ooh. Ahh. I want to know if you'll... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
