It was a "zeros to heroes" weekend for the Harvard men's soccer team.

After being blanked by No. 1 Creighton 6-0 on Saturday, the Crimson found its touch on Sunday and upset Columbia, which entered the match 3-0, by a 2-1 final.

The Crimson (1-2, 1-0 Ivy), which started six freshmen and sophomores in each game, now finds itself atop the Ivy League standings and re-energized after two tough home losses.

"We got unlucky in out first game against Providence [a 3-2 overtime loss], and Creighton was a total nightmare, but everyone is really happy about the Columbia win," said senior forward Will Hench. "To win in the Ivy League is better for us than if we'd won the first two and dropped against Columbia."

Harvard 2, Columbia 1

With a night's rest to forget about the Creighton loss, the Crimson took the field against Columbia (3-1, 0-1 Ivy) with a sense of confidence not present the day before.

Sophomore midfielder Joey Smolen put in a dramatic header that broke a 1-1 tie at the 59:00 mark, giving the Crimson a 2-1 win in its Ivy opener.

The first half saw a fluidity in the Crimson offense not seen the day before, with midfielders Mike Peller and Nick Lenicheck providing dynamic play on the wings.

With pressure on the wings, the middle opened up for senior midfielder Armando Petruccelli and junior captain Ryan Kelly to a make a number of runs on the net. Kelly was especially dominant in the middle third, anchoring a continuous Harvard onslaught.

The combined play of Petruccelli and Kelly in the middle led to the Crimson's first goal in the 37th minute.