On the other side of the ball, making his first start since freshman year, junior goalkeeper Joe Festa stood tall in net to earn the clean sheet for the Crimson. Giving starter Evan Mendez his first break of the season, Festa made four saves, including a diving stop in the final minute.

“I thought [Festa] was very good,” Lehrer said. “His communication was good and [his] handling was good. You know he’s going to be a little bit nervous coming into his first game, but he performed very well.”

In six career starts for Harvard, Festa has now compiled 27 saves to go along with a 1.21 GAA. However, the win against Stony Brook is just the first of the goalkeeper’s collegiate career.

The Crimson came into the game looking to get back on track after its nine-game unbeaten streak was snapped Saturday against Princeton.

Harvard had rattled off eight straight wins following three losses to open the season before a tie with Brown and the loss to the Tigers knocked the team out of first place in the Ivy League. The Crimson is now tied for second in the conference with Princeton. Dartmouth, which now leads the league, will host Harvard on Saturday in a pivotal league matchup.

With just one home game remaining, the Crimson has now improved to 7-0 at Soldiers Field and 8-0 at home overall. The last time Harvard finished the season unbeaten at home was in 2008, when the Crimson finished 12-6 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.­

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jmeagher@college.harvard.edu.