Water Polo Picks Up First Win of Season at MIT Invite

It looks like the third time really is the charm for Harvard men’s water polo.

After dropping its first two games, the Crimson racked up the year’s first win in its third matchup at this weekend’s MIT Invitational. Harvard (1-2) lost to Boston Metro Elite club team, 9-8, and to No. 14 St. Francis, 16-7, on Saturday but came back to defeat Cal Lutheran, 12-8, the next day.

The invitational was not only the 2010 team’s debut, but also the debut of the Crimson’s new water polo coach, Ted Minnis. Coming from his most recent position coaching high school water polo and swimming in Palo Alto, Calif., Minnis is just beginning his career at the collegiate level. But according to his players, the transition has been smooth.

“Ted brings a lot of energy and a lot of water polo expertise to the deck,” sophomore Max Eliot said. “We’re all excited to have him as our new coach this year.”

Along with Minnis, Harvard water polo brought in an impressive class of freshmen, but with three of the six out for the season due to injury, the team was carried by its talented returning players. Seniors Alex Thompson, Jeff Lee, and co-captain Bret Voith led the team in scoring for the weekend.

But Minnis was quick to point out that the squad’s success rested on the shoulders of more than just a few players.

“Almost everybody played some minutes, everybody worked hard out there, and in the end the last game was a definite team win,” he said.

HARVARD 12, CAL LUTHERAN 8

With strong play at both ends of the pool, the Crimson was able to build an early lead against Cal Lutheran (0-4) and hold off the Kingsmen for the 12-8 victory in Sunday’s game.

Both teams started scoring early, and Cal Lutheran was within one goal at the end of the first period, but with some quick passing and fast breaks, Harvard was up 10-7 by halftime.

The second half saw less scoring by the Crimson, which Minnis attributed to a lack of patience and discipline on offense, but powerful defense kept Cal Lutheran nearly scoreless as well.

“We played phenomenal the second half, and we only gave up one goal,” Eliot said. “Once we started listening to our coach, we really got the basics down, and we really got our defense down.”

Junior goalkeeper Alexandre Popp had a total of 11 saves in the game and kept late efforts by the Kingsmen out of the net to secure the win.

ST. FRANCIS 16, HARVARD 7

On Saturday, the Crimson struggled from the beginning against the Terriers (3-0), a consistently tough non-conference opponent. With a four-point lead at halftime and an 11-goal second half, St. Francis dominated the contest, especially on offense.

“Where defense was the key for us [against Cal Lutheran], it really hurt us against the other teams,” Minnis said.

BOSTON METRO ELITE 9, HARVARD 8

In by far the closest of Harvard’s matchups at the invitational, the Crimson battled it out in an exhibition game against Boston Metro Elite, a club team.

The score was even at the half, and Harvard pulled ahead 7-4 partway through the third period. But Boston Metro Elite responded quickly with a run of five unanswered goals.

The Crimson refused to go away quietly and pulled within one in the last few minutes of play. After a late timeout, Harvard had one more chance to even the score, but when Lee’s shot ricocheted off the crossbar, Boston Metro Elite went away with the win.

Despite the early falters, the Harvard team came out of the weekend on a positive note.

“We kept getting better every game and I think that was the key,” Minnis said. “It’s a staircase, and we’re going to climb all season.”

—Staff writer Madeleine Smith can be reached at smith21@college.harvard.edu.