Host Crimson Puts Away Wagner Early

Coming off a four-game losing streak on the West Coast, the Crimson women’s water polo team (11-9, 2-2 Ivy) returned to winning form at home with a 12-8 victory over Wagner (11-8, 0-0 MAAC) yesterday at Blodgett Pool.

“We talked about using the lessons we learned in California,” Harvard coach Ted Minnis said. “With those lessons, we can just keep getting better and apply those [lessons] into the game.”

The difference showed starting from the first face-off as the home team took the early lead, 2-0, on back-to-back goals from junior co-captain Devan Kennifer. The potential All-American finished the first period with five goals on her way to a six-goal game, in which she also had five steals. She now has a total 51 goals for this season.

“Devan is Devan,” Minnis said. “She was an All-American last year, and she’s going to get another look this year…she’s just really fun to watch play.”

With 5:30 left to play in the first period, the Seahawks responded with a goal from close range to close up the lead, 2-1. But Kennifer came right back, scoring another two goals in two minutes to increase the lead to three.

But Wagner kept the game within reach, stopping two Crimson offensive drives and adding two goals of their own to again bring the lead to one.

“I thought that was a real good game for us,” Kennifer said. “They really match up well with us, and we’ve had prior history with Wagner, so it was great to get such a strong win.”

Harvard closed the period, 6-3, by scoring two goals in the final minutes. Kennifer notched another goal, while junior Shannon Purcell scored her first of two goals.

The Crimson did not let up on either side of the ball as it entered the second period. The defense shut out the Seahawks in the period, contributing to Harvard’s 11th game this season in which it held its opponent to single-digit goals.

After three minutes of no scoring, the Crimson capitalized on a steal by junior Monica Zdrojewski, who swam her way to an easy goal on the breakaway. After Kennifer added her own goal on a lob shot over Wagner goalie Laura Karbach’s head, Purcell put it away with 25 seconds on the clock to give Harvard a 9-3 lead going into the half.

“The teams we played in California tended to be more physical and be at a higher level,” Kennifer said. “I think it gave us the opportunity to match that higher level and bring back those skills back to the East Coast, especially on defense.”

After an offensive lull by both teams on multiple missed shots, the Bears found the back of the net off a long pass by the Wagner goalie. With three and a half minutes left on the clock, Harvard earned a five-meter penalty shot, giving sophomore two-meter guard Elise Molnar a chance to extend the lead. Molnar converted on the opportunity on her way to a total of three goals and two steals.

The third period ended, 10-4, with the Crimson in position to control the game’s clock in the last period.

After losing the final face-off of the day, the Bears struck with a quick goal, but Molnar responded to again extend the lead to six.

“After a long week away, I think it was good to get a week of practice in,” Minnis said. “We had the time to focus on one team and one game, and it made the girls really fired up and focused on the challenge at hand and not what’s ahead.”

With a few minutes left in the game, Harvard began to run out the shot clock, eliminating the time Wagner would have for a comeback.

The Bears scored for the sixth time with three minutes to play and added two more goals in the final minutes, but could not put up enough shots to catch up.

With support from the defense, junior goalie Laurel McCarthy had eight saves en route to controlling the Wagner offense throughout much of the game.

The team combined for a total of 17 steals dispersed among eight players.

“On the road trip we learned how well we can play as a team,” Kennifer said. “And we just have to keep our energy up and just remember to play as hard as we can the rest of the season.”