Peter Benevides extended Rhode Island’s lead when he chipped the ball in over Roth’s head just 31 seconds later.

“Unfortunately, we conceded several soft goals both from set pieces and other lapses,” Fritz said.

The Rams capped off the rally with a fifth goal from Brian Mazza at the 82:37 mark.

“We couldn’t establish a tempo and keep the ball, and it was a constant struggle to keep it,” Roth said.

Harvard 4, Vermont 0

The Crimson’s season opener last Friday remained scoreless for most of the first half until Harvard senior Joe Steffa spoke up at the 39:54 mark.

Morrow crossed the ball to Steffa, who directed a shot on net. The ball bounced off of the top corner post, but Steffa booted the ball back in to put the Crimson on the board.

“We had to take care to shake off some rust, but we started with a beautiful 30-yard strike from Joe Steffa and that really got us on our way,” Fritz said.

Junior Kevin Ara scored just 21 seconds later off of an assist from senior Marc Buan, giving Harvard a two-goal advantage to start the second half.

That’s when Fritz took over, adding two goals to close out the Crimson’s 4-0 victory and Roth’s fourth career shutout.

The star sniper’s first tally came at the 60:05 mark, when junior Spencer George picked up a loose ball in the box and sent it to Fritz, who converted for the goal. Senior Mike Lobach assisted Fritz’s second score with 16:35 left in the game.