Men’s Soccer Routs RV Massachusetts, 4-1, in Season Opener

Before a crowded Jordan Field, the Harvard men’s soccer team opened its season with a commanding 4-1 victory over the University of Massachusetts, which is currently receiving votes in national polls.

The dominant win extended the Crimson’s 41-year unbeaten run against Massachusetts, whose most recent win in the matchup dates back to 1985.

Harvard (1-0-0) needed just minutes to find the opening goal against the Minutemen (1-1-1) in the two teams’ first meeting of this decade.

Shortly before the 10th minute of play, junior defender Alexander Castel sent a ball from the halfway line to sophomore defender Alejandro Palacio on the left wing. Palacio crossed into the box and connected with senior midfielder Ben Kelly in space, who headed the ball home to open the Crimson’s scoring for the 2026 season.

Harvard fielded a starting lineup composed entirely of returning players, while UMass featured eight transfers in its matchday squad. Following the graduation of starting goalkeeper Lucian Wood, head coach Josh Shapiro turned to sophomore Jason Broome between the posts for his first collegiate start.

Coming off consecutive results against nationally ranked teams, the red-hot Minutemen side opened the action with immediate pressure, using the left wing to send efforts into the Crimson box. Harvard relied on long balls from the back to create its own chances, often looking for sophomore forward Adam Poliakov, who led the team in goals last season.

The first real chance of the evening belonged to the Crimson: a long ball forward from Broome found Poliakov through on goal. His shot, however, was contested and collected by the away goalkeeper at the near post.

Following Harvard’s opening goal from Kelly, the Minutemen continued to mount attacks. Luckily for the home team, junior defender Tim Langenbahn completed a crucial and timely tackle to prevent an equalizer.

The away side eventually tied the score in the 22nd minute. A through ball found UMass defender Rian Mulherin wide open on goal. Mulherin drew a penalty after Castel clipped him and brought him down inside the box. Forward Liam Gainey stepped up and calmly beat Broome from the spot to level the match.

Both sides, especially the Minutemen, continued to trade attacks, though few actually resulted in shots on goal. In the 40th minute, senior captain Dylan Tellado, coming off the bench, picked out the bottom corner with a low strike to restore Harvard’s lead.

UMass wasted no time and responded immediately, whipping a combination of crosses and corners into the box. One cross deflected to Minuteman midfielder Thomas Wadas, who fired toward goal, but Broome produced one of the first saves of his collegiate career to maintain the lead.

UMass continued searching for its second equalizer after the break, piling on pressure with three consecutive corners and several shots.

Harvard, however, punished its in-state rivals on the counterattack following the third corner. Kelly launched the ball forward and located Poliakov, who went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and calmly slotted home to extend the Crimson’s lead.

Poliakov continued to cause trouble for the UMass defense. Soon afterward, he latched onto another long ball and dribbled past multiple defenders, forcing Mulherin, the last defender, to bring him down. Mulherin was shown a red card, extinguishing any hopes of a Minutemen comeback—which the women’s team completed against Harvard earlier this week.

As the sun set over the pitch, junior midfielder Shane Lonergan produced a left-footed strike in the dying embers to beat the keeper under the crossbar, completing the scoring for the night.

The Crimson will now travel to South Bend, Ind., to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-1-2) on Monday evening before returning to Cambridge for a two-game homestand. All matches can be streamed on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Jason Deng can be reached at [email protected].