Harvard Earns Coveted Place at Easterns

The season continues.

The Harvard women’s water polo team finished second in the College Water Polo Association (CWPA) Northern Division Championships at Blodgett Pool this weekend, clinching a berth in next week’s Eastern Championships in Providence, R.I.

The key game was the clincher: yesterday’s semifinal match against Brown, which the Crimson won 6-5. Harvard opened the tournament with a 14-4 win over Utica on Saturday and also lost to top-seeded Hartwick 12-2 on Saturday and 10-4 in the championship game.

The top two teams in the tournament receive automatic bids to Easterns.

“This was the last home weekend for our seniors and we wanted to send them out against Brown with a victory,” Harvard coach Erik Farrar said. “Everybody played really well.”

HARTWICK 10, HARVARD 4

The Hawks beat the Crimson for the fourth time yesterday, winning the team’s sixth-straight Northern Championship.

Hartwick shut out Harvard in the first and third quarters and took a 4-1 lead into halftime.

“We had our chances early on,” Farrar said. “We just didn’t convert.”

Sophomore driver Vivian Liao scored twice to lead the Crimson.

The championship game marked the final home game for Harvard’s four seniors: captain drivers Arin Keyser and Sarah Kennifer, goaltender Lydia Gardner, and 2M-O Molly Mehaffey.

“It wasn’t sad like I thought it would be,” Kennifer said. “It was really fun. I got more excited for the two games today than I had for any other game all season.”

HARVARD 6, BROWN 5

Kennifer and sophomore driver Melissa Mueller scored on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter as Harvard rallied past second-seeded Brown 6-5 in the semi-final game.

It was the Crimson’s first win in four tries against the Bears. But yesterday’s game was more important than the previous matches because it clinched Harvard a spot in the Eastern Championships.

“We played better defense than previously,” Farrar said. “We played better defense and put more of our shots away. Our game plan survived contact with another team for a lot longer than it usually does.”

Gardner played an especially solid game in net, making eight saves.

“There was one shot that was right at her; the rest were tough balls,” Farrar said. “Brown got some good shots off, but she got some very solid blocks on them. She is the real deal; she certainly had her A-game today.”

After Mueller’s goal with 2:36 left, Brown tried to rally, but it turned the ball over twice and managed only two weak shots before the end of the game.

Kennifer also scored in the first period.

“When we had to, we executed,” Farrar said.

After falling behind 1-0, the Crimson scored three straight goals in the first quarter. The Bears scored two in the second to send the game into the half tied at three apiece. Liao scored early in the third; but two Brown goals put Harvard in a hole before the final frame.

“It was one of those games where everything came in bunches,” Farrar said. “We had a run, they had a run and got ahead, and then we had a run and got ahead.

Both of the Crimson’s goals in the fourth quarter came on exclusions.

“I was very pleased—it was a well played game,” he added. “Brown played well, we just played better.”

HARTWICK 12, HARVARD 2

The top-seeded Hawks overwhelmed the hosts on Saturday night.

The Hartwick defense was solid throughout the game, as Harvard did not score until Mueller converted with 3:19 left in the first half. By then, the Hawks had already put seven shots past Gardner in net.

The Crimson battled hard on both ends, but junior Olivia Colebourne made 14 saves in net for Hartwick. Harvard was also the victim of bad luck, as at least seven of its shots hit the post.

The Hawks led 9-1 at halftime and 11-1 after three quarters.

Sophomore driver Melissa McCreery scored Harvard’s second goal in the fourth quarter.

HARVARD 14, UTICA 4

Harvard opened the tournament by scoring on its first seven possessions of the game and cruised to a ten-goal margin of victory over the No. 5-seeded Pioneers.

Keyser led the Crimson with four goals, while Liao and sophomore utility Cassandra Forsyth each scored twice. Six other players scored once for Harvard.

In a high-powered first quarter, the Crimson scored four times before Utica could get a shot on Harvard’s goal. It wasn’t until the two-minute mark in the first half that the Crimson ended its possession without a goal. It ended the quarter leading 8-1.

—Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkrby@fas.harvard.edu.