The Massachusetts men’s cross country team lost in dramatic fashion Saturday, falling to Maine 27-28 in its home opener.

The Minutemen finished second in the weekend’s tri-meet, besting Vermont by 70 points.

Sophomore transfer Ryan Corbett won his first race for the Maroon and White, completing the six-mile race in 23:02.

Corbett, who ran neck-and-neck with Maine’s Jeffery Caron through the first 2.5 miles, pulled away from all runners around the four-mile mark.

“I knew the course, knew where to make my move,” Corbett said. “I heard Caron breathing hard and made my move on a downhill. Usually guys try and stay at a steady rhythm to save energy, but once I got a 15-yard lead I kept pushing it.”

Despite a first place finish by Corbett, the combined scores of Maine’s runners edged the Minutemen by one point.

Before Saturday’s race, the pre-season New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association poll, ranked UMass No. 17, and Maine No. 10.

“Today’s race was a momentary disappointment, we’ve only had ten days to practice,” UMass coach Ken O’Brien said. “This was on the upper-edge of what I expected, most coaches would be disappointed or upset, but I am excited by this team’s potential, not down.”

UMass senior Rich Harris finished fourth overall, the best placing of his career.

“We’re a young team and we really came out today, the guys are pushing me in practice and it shows,” Harris said.

In his first collegiate race, freshman Michael Dulong finished sixth overall and third for the Minutemen with a time of 23:38.

“Dulong was a nice surprise and it shows the teams depth, everybody plays a role,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien’s need for a total team effort has resulted in his decision to implement a “rotating captain” system, where each race will feature a new runner as captain.

“Everyone must play a role if we are going to be successful, Dulong’s performance shows that,” O’Brien said.

UMass is scheduled to race again Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Ted Owen Invitational, in New Britain, Conn.

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Vermont’s Michelle Palmer won the women’s meet, leading her team to a first place of 29 points. Maine followed, with a total of 38 points, and UMass came in third with 53 points.

Alexis Anzelone, the first finisher from UMass, tore through the course in 18 minutes, 22 seconds, for an impressive 6th place. But individual accomplishment was the last thing on Anzelone’s mind.

“We were all running for each other today, and that’s really hard to do because you have to be such an individual when you’re out there by yourself in the woods for twenty minutes. It was a team thing today,” Anzelone said after the race.

Tricia Silva was next for the Minutewomen, clocking a time of 18:54 for 10th place. Amanda Dahlberg was right behind her, running 19:02 for 11th place. Dahlberg also had the team on her mind.

“It’s a small team, but there’s lots of pride,” she said.

Kate Markopoulos came in at 19:03, and freshman phenomenon Cuisle Kierans burst onto the college cross-country scene, rounding out the top five with 19:10. Kierans has high hopes for the season, but notes that she has some definite adjusting to do.

“I think it was a good first experience, and that it will be much more challenging than running in high school. It’s definitely going to take some getting used to,” Kierans said.

Coach Julie LaFreniere was proud of her small, but skilled team.

“I’m very excited about the way they competed,” LaFreniere said, “The scores however, are deceiving. Yes, we lost to the two teams, but for the most part, we had our entire pack in before the other teams’ fifth person. I feel like we’re competing well together.” Next up for the Minutewomen is Saturday’s Ted Owen Invitational in New Britain, Connecticut.