CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's soccer will open its 2026 season with a home matchup against Stony Brook on August 20 at 6 p.m. ET. Thursday's match will be the first-ever meeting between the Crimson and the Seawolves, and it can be streamed on ESPN+. The Crimson will then return to its home pitch on Monday, August 24 to face in-state foe, UMass at 7:00 p.m. ET.
 
With the return of most of its 2025 production and the addition of a talented incoming class, the Crimson will look to make a push towards an Ivy title and a return to the NCAA Tournament.

What to Know

• Chris Hamblin, The Branca Family Head Coach, enters his 11^th season at the helm of Harvard's program. Hamblin owns an 86-41-20 overall record with the Crimson, including a 37-16-10 record in Ivy League Play. Hamblin has coached Harvard to one Ivy League Title and four NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure.
• The Crimson return its top five goal scorers of 2025 in Jasmine Leshnick, Anna Rayhill, Ólöf Kristinsdóttir, Elsa Santos López and Lauren Muniz.
• Rayhill, Kristinsdóttir and Irena Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez were selected as the Crimson captains for 2026, with Rayhill entering her second consecutive year as captain.
• Rayhill was named to the Women's All-East Region Team and was tabbed First Team All-Ivy League after her 2025 campaign.
• Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez, Kristinsdóttir, and Santos López found themselves on the All-Ivy League Second Team, and Jasmine Leshnick received All-Ivy League Honorable Mention.
• Harvard added seven first-years and one transfer to its roster in the offseason. Nicole Bidun joins the squad from Georgia and will bolster the goalkeeping corps with newcomers Fio Eddy and Olivia Busby. Molly Vana and Brooke Huleatt look to add to the offense as forwards while Lou Ruffien contributes as a midfielder/forward. Midfielder Camila Reinaldo and defender Claire Kessenger round out the incoming group for the Crimson. 

Harvard's 2026 Season

The Crimson will compete in nine non-conference matchups before starting its Ivy League schedule at Princeton on Sept 26. After its meeting with Stony Brook, Harvard welcomes UMass (Aug. 24) and Fairfield (Aug. 27) to Jordan Field before going on the road for three straight matches. The Crimson travel to face Syracuse (Aug. 30) and Boston University (Sept. 2) and then head south to play Alabama (Sept. 6).

Harvard rounds out its non-conference schedule with home matches against Northeastern (Sept. 10) and UConn (Sept. 20) with a Sunday afternoon battle at New Hampshire (Sept. 13) in between.
 
The Crimson will host three conference opponents in Cambridge this season – Cornell (Oct. 3), Yale (Oct. 17), and Columbia (Nov. 7). Harvard hits the road to face Dartmouth (Oct. 10), Brown (Oct. 24), and Penn (Oct. 31) as part of its Ivy League schedule. The conference tournament is set for Nov. 12 and 15 on the campus of the top-seeded team.

2025 in Review

Harvard secured several key victories during the year, including two 2-0 wins over Ivy League foes in Princeton (Sept. 27) and Yale (Oct. 12) while also making a comeback to tie 2-2 with Brown (Oct. 18). The Crimson also rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 against Boston University (Sept. 11) in one of its final non-conference games of the year.
 
Harvard graduated five seniors after its 2025 campaign, including All-Ivy League defender August Hunter, All-Ivy League goalie Rihannon Stewart, and 13-match starter Audrey Francois. Despite losing valuable production, the Crimson return 92% of its scoring, 74% of total minutes played, and five All-Ivy selections from 2025. Leshnick and Rayhill return to lead the offensive charge after finishing with a team-high four goals each last season. Leshnick also played the most minutes of any returner from last season, starting in all 14 matches for a total of 1,211 minutes played. Rayhill was a close second, also starting 14 matches and playing 1,137 minutes on the pitch.
 

Scouting the Seawolves

Stony Brook visits Cambridge for the first time and brings a 1-0-1 record into the match following a 2-2 tie with UConn in its season opener and a 5-0 win over New Haven. The Seawolves finished 2025 with a 12-6-2 record and a 5-4 showing in Colonial Athletic Association play. SBU ultimately fell to Elon in penalty kicks in the CAA Championship game to end its 2025 season.
 
Stony Brook was picked to finish atop the CAA North Division this year while midfielder Jamie keens and defender Abigail Roche were named All-CAA Preseason honorable mentions. Forward Emily Lemke currently leads the Seawolves with a goal in each of the games played. Lemke was one of five different players to register a goal against New Haven, and four different players logged assists in the match.
 

Scouting the Minutewomen

UMass began 2026 with a 2-1 win at St. John's on Aug. 13 and will have its home opener against NJIT on Aug. 20. The Minutewomen scored both of its goals against the Red Storm in the opening 12 minutes, with midfielder Annie McCaffrey assisting on the first and scoring the second. Caroline Dickinson logged the other goal on a header, and Kaila Steen, Peyton Costello, and Amelia Deren each recorded an assist in the match.
 
UMass leads the all-time series with the Crimson 16-13-3 and took the most recent victory 2-1 on Aug. 24, 2025, in Amherst, Mass. The Minutewomen finished 2025 at 5-8-4 and went 3-6-2 in Mid-American Conference play.
 

Up Next

The Crimson return to its home pitch with a Thursday afternoon match against Fairfield on Aug. 27 at 4 p.m. ET. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.