SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-1-2) secured their first win of the season as they defeated the Harvard Crimson (1-1-0) in a 3-1 victory at Alumni Stadium on Monday evening.
The Irish finished the night with three goal scorers as Michael Capretto, Vlad Walent, and Stevie Dunphy each recorded a goal in Monday night's win. Nolan Spicer also recorded his first assist of the season and goalkeeper Blake Kelly finished the night with six saves.
The Irish outshot the Crimson 19-8 and dominated possession, winning 10 corner kicks while holding Harvard to four. Both squads finished the night with six saves apiece.
While it was a scoreless first half, the Irish had several good looks. Notre Dame had a goal-scoring opportunity in the 14th minute as Jack Flanagan played a through ball releasing Spicer into the box, but the Harvard tackle just outside the six-yard box resulted in the Irish corner.
In the 18th minute, Notre Dame had several chances as a blocked shot from Evan Lim fell to the feet of Capretto, but the shot hit the near post. A third chance would occur just outside the box from Maverick McCoy, but the blocked shot would lead to another Irish corner.
Spicer was on the attack yet again in the 34th minute as the diving save from the Harvard goalkeeper stopped the left-footed strike.
Harvard would have an early breakthrough in the second half as they were on the board in the 51st minute to take a 1-0 lead over the Irish.
However, the Irish counterattack held strong as they responded with three straight goals and held the Crimson scoreless the remainder of the match.
Stevie Dunphy scored first for the Irish as he provided the equalizer in the 61st minute for his first goal of the season. A blocked shot from Spicer on the left side fell back to the feet of the senior midfielder, who played it to the far post to Dunphy for the game-tying goal.
61' STEVIE DUNPHY GOAL
— Notre Dame Men's Soccer (@NDMenSoccer) September 1, 2026
Dunphy scores his first goal of the season on the pass from Nolan Spicer! pic.twitter.com/kNz4zxx3qp
Looking for their first lead of the night, the Irish would strike again in the 79th minute. Diego Green sent a beautiful ball to the far post as Michael Capretto’s diving header put the Irish in front at 2-1.
79' The freshman🔥
— Notre Dame Men's Soccer (@NDMenSoccer) September 1, 2026
Capretto scores his second goal of the season on the assist from Diego Green! pic.twitter.com/4nzPdcgDAE
The scoring frenzy continued as a shot from Tristan Tropeano resulted in a Harvard handball and Irish penalty kick from Vlad Walent. Walent converted on the penalty kick, who is now 2-2 on penalty kicks this season, to give Notre Dame a two-goal lead in the 83rd minute for the 3-1 victory on Monday night.
McFARLAND FAMILY MEN’S HEAD SOCCER COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On the match…
“I’m really pleased with the guys tonight and I think it was a hard fought win. Harvard is a really good team and I think they're gonna have a very good season. We knew building this schedule that we had a lot of tough games, and I think you've seen our growth over these last few games. It was nice to see us hit the back of the net and get a victory tonight.”
UP NEXT
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will cap off their homestand with Michigan (2-0-1) on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 3:30 PM at Alumni Stadium.