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In an intense defensive battle in front of the Jordan Field home crowd, Harvard men’s soccer (3-1-1) notched a tight 1-0 win against its New England opponent, the University of New Hampshire (0-3-4), improving to 3-0-1 in its last four contest and following a 1-1 draw against UConn on the road on Saturday, where sophomore Phoenix Wooten scored his first career goal on a second-half equalizer.

“We’re just grinding these wins out,” junior midfielder Ben Kelly said in an interview with Harvard Athletics. “It’s a mentality that we have now. We are not going to lose at home.”

After a cagey start to the game and a Wildcats shot that hit the woodwork in the 20th minute, the deadlock was broken by Harvard in the 26th minute. From a right flank attacking move, junior forward Andreas Savva snuck a quick pass to junior midfielder Kelly. Kelly singlehandedly maneuvered in the box between several UNH defenders and made a powerful shot, which landed in the back of the net.

“The team is resilient. We fight for each other,” Kelly said.

“We’re not gonna win this game as a team of individuals. We win as a collective. We’re building some momentum we haven’t had in a couple years now, and I think we’re ready to take anything that comes at us.”

For the rest of the game, Harvard’s defensive line held strong against repeated UNH attacks, including a near-goal with 20 minutes left. On the contrary, Harvard’s attack failed to create enough chances in the box to force dangerous attacking opportunities. The game’s pace ramped up in the last few minutes, after UNH and Harvard players got involved in an altercation near the sideline. With one minute left to go, the Crimson defense deflected a shot, and senior goalkeeper Cullen MacNeil made a crucial save during a corner to seal a quality win for Harvard.

“The team really put a great shift in. A game full of grit and hard work. It was nice to make the plays I needed to, but at the end of the day the boys earned the clean sheet. It was truly a collective effort, all focus now on the Ivys,” MacNeil wrote.

“We have a week break now, which will be good for some of us and our bodies. We’re really looking forward to every game that we’re playing,” Kelly added.

The Crimson returns to action when it faces off against its rivals across the river, Northeastern, at Jordan Field next Tuesday, Sep. 23, at 7 p.m., streaming on ESPN+.

“We really think we can win against anyone,” said Kelly. “And that’s the mentality.”

– Staff writer Nghia L. Nguyen can be reached at nghia.nguyen@thecrimson.com

– Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.co