Breakout Player of the Year, Runner-Up: Shayna Price, Women's Water Polo

The Harvard women’s water polo team finished with an 18-16 record, its best mark since 2005, and a large reason for such newfound success was the emergence of junior attacker Shayna Price.

After a sophomore season in which she found the back of the net 40 times, Price nearly doubled her total to finish with 76 goals.

The Honolulu, Hawaii native was a consistent source of offense for the Crimson, as she failed to register a goal in only three of the team’s 34 games this season.

“I think I maybe had more confidence in how I played,” Price said. “I trusted my teammates so that I was able to take more shots than I normally would.”

Price notched at least four goals in nine games this year. Her top offensive performance came in the first game of the season against Iona, when she netted six goals to lead the Crimson to a 15-13 win.

The junior scored five times and amassed two steals against Cal State Bakersfield in early April, and she led the team with four goals in a game against No. 5 California.

After a big weekend in which Price registered a six-point performance against Santa Clara and the Crimson won three of its four games, Price was named CWPA Southern Division Co-Player of the Week.

Price finished with 33 assists and 39 steals on the year. Her 76 goals were second best on the team, just three behind her older sister, co-captain Aisha Price.

“It’s just an amazing opportunity to play with my sister,” Aisha Price said. “I have a lot of respect for her as a player. She always really performs during games, and she really thrives in pressure situations.”

“She probably has the best shot on our team, by far,” Aisha Price added. “She’s always working to create offensive opportunities to get her shot and help other players get their shot as well. I know that next year all of [our opponents] will be looking out for her.”

Shayna Price’s emergence as a scorer to be reckoned with paid dividends for the relatively small Crimson squad of ten players.

“I think that our team this year really went after it and nobody was afraid that if you missed it you’d get in trouble,” Price said. “We all just put our heart into every shot and every play, and that’s what really helped us this season.”

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at dsteinbach@college.harvard.edu.