Men's Soccer

#AEMSOC Alums Succeeding In Professional Soccer

BOSTON – Following another impressive men’s soccer season in which Vermont ranked as high as No. 1 and Bryant jumped as high as No. 2 nationally, six difference America East programs have at least two players playing professionally in the United States or Canada.
 
The league’s highest profile professional is Moise Bombito, who plays for OG Nice in Ligue 1-France and was starter on the Canadian National Team before a lower leg injury sidelined him last year. Bombito still has aims at competing for Canada when they serve as a co-host of the 2026 World Cup.
 
Six America East alums are currently on MLS contracts, with UMBC’s Jon Bell and Taylor Calheira playing for Austin FC and Sporting Kansas City this season. Bell helped the Seattle Sounders win the Leagues Cup last year before going to Austin FC, while Calheira made his MLS debut this year.
 
New Hampshire’s Josh Bauer plays for Nashville SC and helped them win the 2025 U.S. Open Cup in 2025. Fellow Wildcat Yannick Bright, meanwhile, is in his third season with Inter Miami and last year helped them reach the Leagues Cup final, where they fell to the Seattle Sounders. Vermont’s Max Murray and Sydney Wathuta have appeared in MLS matches for NYFC and the Colorado Rapids in the last six months, after being taken in the top-20 of the 2025 Superdraft.
 
Vermont goalkeeper Niklas Herceg was selected 16th overall by FC Dallas this past December but chose to return to the Catamounts for his junior season. It marked the fourth straight year an America East player was chosen in the top-20.
 
 
UAlbany
Daniel Krutzen: Forge FC (CPL)
Danny Vitiello, Sacramento Republic FC (USL Championship)

Binghamton
Dylan McDermott, NYCFC II (MLS NEXT Pro)
Jake Keegan, Corpus Christi FC (USL League 1)

Bryant
Abdel Talabi, Monteray Bay FC (USL Championship)
Mamadi Jiana, Houston Dynamo 2 (MLS NEXT Pro)

UMBC
Jon Bell, Austin FC (MLS)
Taylor Calheira, Sporting KC (MLS)
Ryan Becher, Fort Wayne FC (USL League One)
 
New Hampshire
Josh Bauer, Nashville SC (MLS)
Moise Bombito, OG Nice (Ligue 1-France)
Yannick Bright, Inter Miami CF (MLS)
Elias Khodri, Toronto FC II (MLS Next Pro)
Jassem Koleilat, Birmingham Legion FC (USL Championship)
Erik Lauta, Austin City FC II (MLS Next Pro)
Tola Showunmi, Louisville City FC (USL Championship)
 
Vermont
Zach Barrett, Huntsville City FC (MLS Next Pro)
Yaniv Bazini, Orange Country SC (USL Championship)
Maximillian Kissel, Timbers FC 2 (MLS Next Pro)
Max Murray, NYCFC (MLS)
Dani Rovira, Rhode Island FC (USL Championship)
Sydney Wathuta, Colorado Rapids (MLS)
Brian Wright Forge FC (Canadian Premier League)

The America East is one of the best men’s soccer conferences in the country and home to 2024 National Champion Vermont. In 2025, both Vermont and Bryant found themselves ranked in the top-three multiple weeks, the first time the league had two teams in the top-three. Overall The conference has received multiple bids to the NCAA tournament in five of the past 10 seasons. Five different teams have reached the third round of the NCAA tournament since 2014.
 
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.