Harvard No. 3 at Northerns

The Harvard men’s water polo team hosted the Northern Championships this weekend at Blodgett Pool.

Tied for second place with Iona and Brown, the Crimson entered the fray seeded No. 3, based on a goal differential tie-breaking system.

Last time out, Harvard won with 54 seconds remaining in the third overtime period against Brown, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, but the Bears proved a tougher foe this time around.

When the last ripple faded, the Crimson had finished where it started, placing No. 3 in the Championships and earning a spot at the Nov. 11-12 Eastern Championships.

HARVARD 8, FORDHAM 5

Fordham University, seeded sixth, met the Crimson in the first round. When the teams faced each other earlier this season, Harvard mounted an early four-goal lead over the Rams and held on for a 9-6 victory. Not much changed when the two faced each other a second time. After the final whistle, the Crimson had defeated the Rams 8-5 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Down two goals early in the first period, the Crimson rebounded quickly to even the score. Defensive pressure and team play gave Harvard the advantage after a slow start. At 5:25 in the second, co-captain and senior Mike Garcia intercepted a pass, beat all defenders on the breakaway, and slipped the ball past the goalkeeper.

Sophomore David Tune and Garcia each logged assists in the team effort.

BROWN 9, HARVARD 4

Brown and Harvard, bitter Ivy League rivals, faced off again in the quarterfinals. The teams met two weeks ago in a fiercely contested match, with Harvard netting the game-winner with 54 seconds left in overtime.

With the crushing defeat fresh in their minds, the Bears took to the pool looking to avenge their loss.

Earlier that day, the team routed Queens College 13-3, and then carried its strong play into the game against Harvard. The Bears mounted a 3-0 run to start the match and held the Crimson scoreless until 5:25 in the second period. Bears goalkeeper Kent Holland kept Harvard out of the net, effectively stifling the Crimson offense.

On the other hand, Harvard seemed to be its own enemy.

“Our offense never really flowed,” senior John Voith said. “When you play these games, you get into this rhythm, this flow, whatever you want to call it. When we played Brown, it wasn’t there.”

“It was one of those days,” Garcia said.

HARVARD 11, MIT 8

The spirit that was lacking against Brown made its return Sunday morning against the Engineers.

“After Brown, we kind of got that attitude back,” Voith said.

Although MIT struck first to gain the early lead, Harvard would not allow a repeat of Saturday’s match.

The Crimson quickly struck back and mounted a 3-0 run, ending the first frame 3-2. The advantage continued to teeter back and forth, with Harvard maintaining a slight one-goal lead through halftime.

At 7:11 in the third frame, the Engineers finally landed the equalizer in its first shot of the period. The Crimson cut the MIT momentum short when it mustered a 4-0 run in the third period.

—Staff writer Vincent R. Oletu can be reached at voletu@fas.harvard.edu.