GORHAM — Rob Dow stood next to the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Field on Sunday afternoon, catching up with old friends and waiting for the bus carrying his University of Vermont men’s soccer team to arrive. The defense of the national title the Catamounts won last December took a side trip to Maine this weekend for an exhibition game against the University of South Florida on Monday night at Bowdoin College. When Dow learned USF was holding preseason camp in Maine, it was an easy decision to rearrange his team’s schedule and set up the preseason match. “It’s like coming home for me,” Dow said. Arguably the top coach currently working in Division I men’s soccer, Dow owes his passion for the game to a team that’s a memory. Dow spent a year at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, not far from his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, before transferring to the University of Maine. Every time Dow leads UVM on to the pitch, he also represents a college soccer program that’s been in mothballs for 16 years. Dow played for the University of Maine, graduating in 2003, and led the Black Bears in scoring twice. Maine dropped men’s soccer in the spring of 2009, citing budgetary reasons. In recent years, the women’s soccer team at the school has thrived, winning the last two America East titles and advancing to the NCAA tournament. Maine is the only full-time member of America East that does not field a men’s soccer team. “The best days of my life, and the best decision I ever made,” Dow said of his college days. “I grew up as a person, made friends for life, and ultimately fell in love with college soccer and became a coach. It all stems from those days at Maine.” Dow’s wife Loren grew up in Hollis and graduated from Bonny Eagle High. His parents grew up in New Brunswick, not far from the Maine border. Dow has cousins sprinkled throughout Eastern Maine. Maine would be part of his makeup even without the diploma. Assistant coach Rory Twomey played his college soccer in Maine, too, at St. Joseph’s College. “In 2023, we were ranked, and we made the tournament Sweet 16. Then last year was the big year,” Twomey said. Soccer is enjoying a high point in Maine these days. The Portland Hearts of Pine are selling out every home game at Fitzpatrick Stadium. The University of Maine women’s team will begin play on a new field in October, as it tries to reach a third straight NCAA tournament. With no Division I men’s team in the state to support, why not leapfrog New Hampshire and send that love to the Catamounts? Dow is happy to have anyone from Maine jump on the bandwagon. This is Dow’s ninth season at Vermont, and he hasn’t suffered a losing season yet. Last season’s championship-winning run was the fourth straight trip to the NCAA tournament for the Catamounts, who could feel it building. That team graduated a lot of leadership, though, including Kennebunkport’s Max Murray, a defender who days after the national championship was selected in the first round of the MLS Super Draft by New York City FC with the 17th overall pick. “We definitely talk about (Murray) a lot, how he was vital for us in set pieces and how he was such a tall and physical player for us,” said Connor Thompson, a Kennebunk native and grad student midfielder on UVM’s roster. “That’s something we have to try and find. We’re trying to. I think we’ve got the right guys for the team.” That necessary team building begins with trips like this short one from Burlington to Maine, and a bigger one the team took earlier this summer. Eighteen players return, but the 11 newcomers need to incorporate into the team. “We went to Germany in June, and we got to take a lot of our newcomers with us. So we started the gel and chemistry process with some games against top German teams. It feels like we’re a little ahead of schedule, but at the same time, you can’t replace so much of the leadership we had last year, guys who had been around five years,” Dow said. When ESPN’s 50 States in 50 Days tour hits Vermont on Friday, it will highlight the Catamounts. Dow’s team is ranked No. 1 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll, just ahead of last year’s runner-up, Marshall. The season begins Aug. 21 against Sacred Heart. “It was a really busy offseason, with media appearances and all those types of things. It’s the best type of (busy), when you can elevate the stars of your program, and this season is going to be a really hard season,” Dow said. “Everyone wants to beat us. For everyone, it’s going to be a big game. We’re going to take the pressure as a privilege and look at how that can make us better.” A couple days back in Maine, where Dow feels at home, is the perfect way to train a little, play a game, and recharge for the upcoming season. The road to Dow’s first national championship, everything he’s accomplished as a coach, really, went through Maine. The road to the title defense brought him back.