Aquadudes Reign Over Engineers, 15-8

For those of you who didn't know, a special showing of "The King and I" played last night at Blodgett Pool.

At least that's what it seemed like as the Harvard men's water polo team (5-8 overall) confidently staged an easy 15-8 win over a beleagured MIT team.

After a tough Columbus Day weekend at the Berkeley Tournament in California, the Crimson found the going easier against the Engineers. Led by sophomore Peter "The King" Richards' hat trick and a strong supporting cast, the Crimson players acted like seasoned veterans.

But the Crimson showing was not all Oscar-winning material. The beginning of the game, in fact, saw MIT score the first two goals with amazing alacrity. The first few minutes were dominated by an MIT team which no doubt wished to avenge the 21-9 drubbing Harvard gave them earlier in the season.

After the two quick Engineer tallies, Harvard Coach Chris Rafferty called time-out to settle his struggling players.

The time-out worked. The Crimson players began to concentrate on the task at hand and responded with two goals of their own.

Long Live The King

"We got off to a slow start. We came off a good weekend in California, but we felt tired and it took us a while to get going," senior Co-Captain Nick Branca said. "I think our steals were key. We had a lot of fast-break goals."

And this comes from the same man who predicted before the game: "The King and I are going to score hat tricks."

But Branca's self-confidence was well-founded. Though he didn't score a hat trick, he did score an impressive pair of goals. Branca was not the only poised Crimson starter--several members of the team felt that the trip to California helped them psychologically.

"We played strongly after California," said "The King" himself. "We felt very comfortable out there."

After the slow start, the Crimson started to score. And score. And score. All in all, eight unanswered goals crashed into the back of the MIT net. It wasn't until a minute left in the first half that MIT managed to squeak by a lone goal after its initial flurry. At the half, the Crimson led 8-3.

Obviously, the battles in California injected new vigor into the Crimson line-up. The Columbus Day weekend featured games against some of the best teams in the nation, including top-rated Berkeley. And the first half displayed some of the things Harvard learned: the fast-break scoring, the success Harvard had in stealing balls, the quick comeback.

In the second half, the Crimson exhibited more of this recently acquired knowledge. Sophomore Kio Lippit and junior Tom Killian added two goals apiece, as the Crimson called it curtains for MIT.

The Crimson's encore performance will be the Eastern League Championships this weekend at Annapolis, MD. League rival Brown will be in attendance.