Men’s Soccer Falls 3-1 to Notre Dame

For nearly an hour in South Bend, Ind., the Harvard men’s soccer team successfully weathered every punch the Fighting Irish threw.

Despite sustained pressure and twice being rescued by the woodwork in the opening half, the Crimson (1-1) struck first thanks to a goal from freshman midfielder Gil de Souza in the 51st minute.

Then, in the space of 22 minutes, the match unraveled. Notre Dame (1-1-2) responded with three goals, capitalizing on increasingly loose play in Harvard’s midfield and backline to hand the Crimson its first loss of the season, 3-1.

The defeat marked a sharp reversal from Harvard’s commanding 4-1 season-opening victory over the University of Massachusetts on Friday. Seeking to build on the momentum from its opener, head coach Josh Shapiro named the same 11 starters that dispatched the Minutemen, including sophomore goalkeeper Jason Broome, who made his second collegiate start after recording four saves in his debut.

Once again, Harvard began the match with energy. Senior midfielder — and Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week — Ben Kelly forced Notre Dame’s goalkeeper, Blake Kelly, to make a save in the opening minute. Sophomore forward Adam Poliakov followed with two efforts of his own in the opening 10 minutes. The Crimson appeared comfortable pushing forward early and forced three saves before the Fighting Irish could seriously threaten Broome in goal.

However, the tempo soon swung in Notre Dame’s favor as it gradually took control of possession, pinning the Crimson deeper into its own half, leading to repeated corners and sustained spells around the visitors’ penalty area.

In the 18th minute, Fighting Irish midfielder Ian Shaul offered the first warning. Given space well outside the box, Shaul unleashed a long-range strike that beat Broome but crashed against the right post. Four minutes later, forward Jack Flanagan tested Harvard’s keeper with a dipping shot at the near post. Broome got down to stop the shot but could not initially hold it, requiring junior defender Tim Langenbahn to intervene before Notre Dame could pounce on the loose ball.

A few minutes later, a disjointed Crimson clear following a set piece by the home side allowed the ball to fall to freshman forward Michael Capretto, only yards away from goal. Capretto’s effort was denied by the woodwork.

Notre Dame entered the break with a firm statistical advantage, generating nine shots and seven corners to Harvard’s five shots and one corner, but the match remained scoreless.

The Crimson emerged from the break with renewed composure in possession and, just six minutes later, pieced together its best attacking sequence of the night.

Harvard worked the ball patiently out of the back before switching play toward senior captain Dylan Tellado. Tellado immediately accelerated beyond the Notre Dame wingback, reached the edge of the box, and cut the ball back into de Souza’s path near the penalty spot. The freshman made no mistake, burying the chance for his first collegiate goal and putting Harvard ahead, 1-0. Tellado, who scored against UMass on Friday, has now recorded a point in each of Harvard’s two matches.

The Crimson’s goal seemed to spur Notre Dame on. The Fighting Irish pushed numbers forward and increasingly pressured Harvard’s attempts to move the ball from defense into midfield. Passing sequences began to degrade, and the Crimson wound up repeatedly returning possession to the hosts before establishing an attacking rhythm.

One such sequence catalyzed Notre Dame’s equalizer in the 61st minute. After Harvard surrendered possession in midfield, senior midfielder Nolan Spicer collected the ball on the left side of the penalty area. His initial attempt was blocked, but the senior recovered possession and drove the ball across the face of goal, where substitute forward Stevie Dunphy arrived at the far post for a simple tap-in finish.

The equalizer swung the momentum decisively toward the Fighting Irish. Harvard, meanwhile, struggled to sustain possession long enough to relieve the pressure on its defense. Tellado sent an effort over the crossbar in the 71st minute, but the Crimson did not force Notre Dame’s keeper into another save for more than 38 minutes after de Souza’s opener.

The Fighting Irish’s attacks continued in waves as Shaul again provided a warning from distance midway through the half, sending another powerful effort toward the Harvard goal from roughly 35 yards out. His shot dipped over Broome but failed to find the net, instead careening off the crossbar.

By the 79th minute, the onslaught finally yielded a second goal when midfielder Diego Green found space to deliver from the wing, lofting a ball toward the far post. Capretto attacked it from close range, directing a diving header past Broome to give Notre Dame its first lead of the night.

Harvard’s attempts to play its way out from the back continued to invite pressure, and the hosts needed less than four minutes to strike again.

Midfielder Tristan Tropeano drove directly at the Crimson defense, splitting Harvard’s lines before cutting the ball back across the penalty area. The Crimson blocked the initial opportunity but failed to clear the danger, allowing the ball to fall back to Tropeano. His ensuing shot struck a Harvard defender’s arm, and Notre Dame was awarded a penalty following video review.

Graduate transfer defender Vlad Walent stepped forward and converted from the spot in the 83rd minute, sending Broome the wrong way and stretching Notre Dame’s advantage to 3-1.

With the result slipping away, Harvard’s composure at the back deteriorated further. The Fighting Irish immediately searched for a fourth, forcing Broome into successive saves against Tropeano and Flanagan as the Crimson struggled to escape its defensive third.

At the opposite end, Harvard managed one final opportunity in the 89th minute when Tellado released senior forward Andreas Savva behind the Notre Dame defense. However, Savva’s powerful effort was stopped by the Fighting Irish’s keeper, who extinguished any remaining hope of a dramatic Crimson comeback.

Harvard will continue its non-conference slate with a two-week homestand at Jordan Field, facing off against the Providence College Friars (2-1-1) and the University of Connecticut Huskies (1-0-3). The Crimson will look to restore the attacking rhythm of its season opener while tightening the transition play that Notre Dame punished.

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

—Staff writer Rhys Greenland can be reached at [email protected].