BURLINGTON — The Upper Valley will be well-represented when Vermont Green FC and visiting Ballard FC duke it out in the USL League Two championship game on Saturday night at Virtue Field.
Hartford native Jed Sass will patrol the sidelines as an assistant coach for Vermont, and for Seattle-based Ballard, Richie Aman, who grew up in Hanover, is a standout forward.
USL League Two, with teams from the U.S. and Canada, is considered pre-professional and on its website bills itself as “the defined and proven pathway for players to progress to the ranks of professional soccer.”
Future aspirations aside, both Sass and Aman indicated that they and their teams are looking forward to Saturday’s match.
“We’re feeling really confident going into this weekend, but we also know it’s going to have to take our best and we’re going to need all of Vermont behind us,” said Sass, who grew up as a “soccer junkie” in White River Junction.
He played at Hartford High from 2010 to 2014 under his father, Steve Sass, before continuing at the collegiate level at Middlebury College in Vermont.
When his collegiate career ended, Sass took a job as a coach for an academy in New Zealand.
Now in his first season as an assistant with Vermont Green FC, he also coaches for Far Post, a youth program in Essex Junction, Vt., and is an assistant coach at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt.
Vermont Green FC head coach Chris Taylor, whose squad is unbeaten going into Saturday’s final, said Sass, 29, has been an invaluable addition.
Taylor said that he met Sass playing men’s league in Burlington, and they immediately hit it off. Eventually, they ended up coaching against one another at the collegiate level.
“I could see the impact he was having with the Saint Mike’s team in terms of his culture and his enthusiasm and obviously his quality as a coach,” Taylor said.
Sass is a bit of a Swiss Army Knife in that he is willing to do a little bit of everything in order to help out his head coach and team.
“He’s got a really good nature with the players, it’s a balance between demanding and encouraging,” Taylor said.
David Saward, who coached Sass at Middlebury, said he’s not surprised to see his former charge having success on the sidelines.
“There’s 12 guys that played for me who are now college coaches, and I’ve said to a number of people that I think that Jed can be one of the better ones that we’ve produced,” said Saward.
He said Sass is a “soccer-nut” who has fully immersed himself in the sport, with a deep understanding of the history of the game.
“I think he’s destined for great success,” Saward added.
On the other side of the pitch, Aman, who grew up in Hanover, is looking forward to the title tilt.
“We’re excited to get out there and show what we can do,” said Aman.
The 21-year-old has notched one goal and 11 assists in his second season for Ballard, which is on the cusp of its second league title in four years after having won in 2023.
Aman got his start playing soccer in elementary school and eventually joined up with Lightning Soccer Club before opting to play for Epping, N.H.-based Seacoast United. From there, he went to the University of Washington, where he will be entering his senior season.
“Richie has always had it,” said Jack Maynes, a friend of Aman, who grew up in Lyme and played alongside him over the years. “He’s very slick on the ball, kind of like (Lionel) Messi, where he just doesn’t require skill moves, he just can cut in and out.”
James Riley, Ballard FC head coach and a former professional soccer player in the MLS, said that Aman’s play dating back to last season has been “exceptional.”
“He is as elusive as I’ve ever seen,” Riley said. “He lives to take guys on, off the dribble, he lives to drive at defenders and create havoc — those types of players are very, very rare.”
Riley was also impressed with the growth Aman has shown from last season.
“We couldn’t be happier to have him on our team,” he said.
As good of a player Aman is, Maynes and Riley emphasized that he is also a great teammate.
“He’s very competitive, so he pushes everybody for a certain standard and always holds himself to that standard,” said Maynes.
Added Riley: “Without a doubt, he has the respect of the group. I think even in the playoff run that we’ve had, he turned it on even more. We asked him for some more defensive effort…and do the dirty work the team needed, and he did that in spades.”
For their parts, both Sass and Aman said being a part of their respective team’s runs to the final has been a great experience.
“It’s just been tremendous fun,” said Sass. “I just really feel fortunate to be able to be part of a team that represents Vermont.”
Aman said his experience playing for Ballard has helped him mesh with his teammates at Washington, some of whom also play for Ballard.
“At Ballard, we really have a great coaching staff and group of players,” said Aman.
Aman has started 30 games and appeared in 57 for the Huskies, and has four goals and nine assists.
Win or lose on Saturday, both men hope this season will be a step toward their ultimate goals.
For Sass, that means a lead role.
“He is incredibly well-suited to being very successful as a collegiate head coach,” said Saward. “Players are going to like him, they are going to respond to him, he’s honest, he’s direct.”
Regarding whether Aman has a chance at playing professionally, potentially for the MLS,
Riley said Aman, “unequivocally … 100%” has the potential to be a successful professional.
“He could be an MLS contributor, and it goes back to his player profile,” the Ballard coach said. “There’s not many players that can beat the first guy, beat the second guy… just off the dribble, and so he’s a special player in that regard.”
Saturday’s title match will begin at 7 p.m., and tickets are sold out according to Vermont Green FC’s website.
The game will be streamed at https://sportsengineplay.com/USL and broadcast on WCAX.
