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Harvard men’s soccer (2-1-0) continued its successful hunt for victories on Wednesday, notching a golden 3-1 triumph in front of a Jordan Field crowd of over 350 against its cross-country opponent, the University of California (3-2-1).

“I’m just super happy, super proud of the boys,” said junior forward Andreas Savva in a postgame interview with Harvard Athletics.

Savva, who ended the night with two goals and an assist, began the game with a bang. Junior forward Dylan Tellado snuck a pass to Savva in the box past two Golden Bear defenders. Savva then crossed the ball with his right leg into the left corner of the net, handing the Crimson an early 1-0 lead.

“Scoring is always good,” Savva said.

In the 15th minute, senior goalie Lucian Wood made a crucial save — his first of four — to keep the score 1-0 in Harvard’s favor. The Crimson played well on the back foot, holding off 12 total shots from the Golden Bears in the first half alone.

In the 78th minute, junior forward Ben Kelly crossed the ball into the box, where Savva skillfully struck a left-footed shot between two Cal defenders and into the back right corner of the net, extending Harvard’s lead to 2-0.

“It was a good game from the lads. We pushed towards the end. Cal is a really good team.”

Just two minutes later, Tellado delivered Harvard’s final gut punch of the night. As Savva headed a pass from Kelly past all of the Golden Bears’ defenders, Tellado instinctively sprinted past everyone and scored with his left foot.

“Tonight was our night where we got the goals. We got the win,” Savva said.

Following the win, the Crimson now leads the Ivy League conference in goals (5) and assists (7). Between the speedy and tactical attack of Savva, Tellado, and Kelly, Ivy League defenses will have their plates full trying to contain Harvard’s goal-scoring abilities.

“Two really big wins for the team. We keep the momentum going,” said Savva.

The Crimson now heads to Storrs, C.T. for another non-conference showdown against the University of Connecticut on Saturday at 6 p.m., streaming on ESPN+.

“This is what we’re built for,” added Savva. “We want these games. We love these games.”
– Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @Praveen4560k.