Men's Water Polo Earns Regular Season Title

The Harvard men’s water polo team remained perfect at home this weekend, as it defeated both St. Francis and Iona on Saturday and Fordham on Sunday to stay undefeated at Blodgett Pool and claim the Northern Division Collegiate Water Polo Association regular season title.

Despite being down in the games against both the Terriers and the Gaels and facing a strong comeback effort from the resilient Rams, the No. 19 Crimson (16-11, 11-1 CWPA Northern) was able to pull out close victories in all three contests. Harvard beat St. Francis, 8-7, and Iona, 18-15, on Saturday, and Fordham, 9-5, on Sunday.

“The weekend went really well for us,” senior captain Jimmy Field said. “We were able to battle in some tough games and come out on top, and manage battling through the adversity of each game. It provided a lot of growing opportunities for us.”

HARVARD 9, FORDHAM 5

The Crimson came out strong against the Rams, as freshman Dan Stevens fired a shot into the back of the net just 25 seconds into the game. After Harvard dominated for much of the first half, Stevens struck again with just seconds to go before halftime, and the Crimson headed into the break with a 6-2 lead.

“I thought we came out hungry for the No. 1 seed in our division,” Stevens said. “In my opinion, our teamwork and communication have never been better.”

Fordham slowly came back in the second half, however, as it shut down Harvard’s offense for the entire third quarter and drew within one to make it 6-5 with just over five minutes to go. However, sophomore Ben Zepfel made a penalty shot to put some breathing room between the two teams. Just a minute later, the Crimson then scored two more quick goals to finish the game with a 9-5 win.

Field stood tall in goal throughout the game, making 11 saves in his last regular season home game to take the win over the Rams.

HARVARD 18, IONA 15

In an intense physical game with six ties and five lead changes, Harvard managed to come out on top to claim its second victory of the day over Iona.

The score went back and forth throughout the first half, as Iona took an early 2-0 lead only to watch the Crimson come back with three straight goals. It appeared as though Harvard would go into halftime with a 9-8 edge, but Iona junior Jake Lloyd managed to get the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Colin Woolway with only 14 seconds left in the half to tie it up.

“Iona was able to be a little more successful in their offense than we would have hoped, but I think overall we learned a lot of things and we did a lot of things well on the offensive and defensive ends,” Field said. “And when our defense wasn’t doing as well, our offense stepped up so we could pull it off.”

The Crimson came back with five straight goals in the third quarter to take a 14-11 lead and did not relinquish it for the rest of the match. The Gaels brought themselves within one with five minutes to go in regulation but could not muster any more offense, as Harvard scored the last two goals of the match to come out with the win.

Zepfel put on a show on offense, netting a career and season-high seven goals to lead Crimson scorers. Noah Harrison also had a strong offensive effort, finding the back of the net six times over the course of the match.

HARVARD 8, ST. FRANCIS 7

In the first match on Saturday, Harvard faced the 16th-ranked Terriers, with whom it had split its two previous games. It was a strong defensive effort for the Crimson, which limited St. Francis to only 3 goals in the final three quarters of the game.

After being outscored, 4-2, in the opening period, Harvard ramped up the intensity on both ends of the pool to come away with the 8-7 win. It was a group effort, with five players combining for eigh goals and eight registering at least one steal.

Harrison led the team both offensively and defensively, leading the team in both goals and steals. The sophomore posted his ninth hat trick of the season and made five steals in the victory.

Stevens also got familiar with the back of the net with two goals, while Zepfel, Joey Colton, and John Holland-McCowan added one apiece. Colin Woolway made 12 saves for Harvard in net to preserve the close win.