Men's Water Polo Wins One at Princeton Invitational

The change of scenery did not affect a change in results for Harvard men’s water polo. In a performance similar to last weekend’s, the Crimson traveled to play at an Ivy rival’s tournament, but struggled against top-ranked teams. Harvard went 1-5 at the Bruno Fall Classic at Brown a week ago. This weekend, the Crimson lost its final two matches on Sunday to post a 1-3 record at the Princeton Invitational.

Harvard (2-7) fell Sunday to Johns Hopkins, 11-9, and George Washington, 11-6, to round out the weekend. Harvard defeated a split-squad Navy team, 13-10, and fell to host Princeton, 14-7, on Saturday in the first day of action.

“We’re a little disappointed because we know that we can play better,” co-captain Will Roller said. “We’re still a young team, but all these guys are very experienced players. It all comes down to execution and that’s what we need to do to get to the next level.”

GEORGE WASHINGTON 11, HARVARD 6

In the Crimson’s final game of the weekend, the team continued its trend of sputtering offensively late in the game, as it was outscored 7-4 in the second half.

Harvard trailed the Colonials by three heading into the final period of the game, but was able to score only once in the final period as George Washington pulled away for the final margin.

A different team member scored each of the Crimson’s goals, with sophomores Robbie Fluegge, Noah Harrison, Ben Zepfel, and Blake Lee getting on the board along with junior John Holland-McCowan and freshman Dan Stevens.

JOHNS HOPKINS 11, HARVARD 9

Against the Blue Jays, Harvard could not hold a halftime lead, and fell apart down the stretch en route to an 11-9 loss.

The Crimson led 6-4 at the half, but Johns Hopkins found the back of the net four times in the third and knotted the score at 8 heading into the final quarter. The Blue Jays pulled away in the fourth with three more goals.

“We had positive moments throughout the game,” Roller said. “We had a very good first quarter, but we broke down and had trouble in terms of playing a full game. We couldn’t string it all together and play Harvard’s brand of water polo.”

PRINCETON 14, HARVARD 7

On Saturday afternoon, Harvard consistently lagged the conference rival Tigers. The Crimson fell behind by three goals heading into the half, and could not mount a second-half charge.

Princeton grew its lead to six by the start of the fourth quarter, and added another in the final period for the final margin of 14-7.

Freshman Joey Colton led the Crimson in scoring with two goals, while Harrison added four assists.

“We just had a few slip-ups and it ended up costing us the game,” senior goalkeeper Jimmy Field said. “Sometimes, we’d go down a goal and rather than adjusting we’d let them score again. From there, it would snowball, rather than us coming back and scoring.”

HARVARD 13, NAVY 10

Harvard’s only win of the weekend came in its first match of the tournament, when it took down the Midshipmen. Although Navy is the 17th-ranked team in the country, half of its team spent the weekend competing at the Bruno Fall Invitational.

The Crimson jumped out to a one-goal lead at the half, but then caught fire with eight goals in the second half to separate for good. Harvard’s victory was Navy’s first loss on the young season.

It was a balanced scoring effort for Harvard, as eight Crimson players found the back of the net. Zepfel, Harrison, and Lee, along with Colton and Stevens, each had two goals for the game. The defense did its part too, as sophomore goalkeeper Colin Woolway had eight saves and two steals.

The weekend was not all bad for Harvard, particularly with the win over the Midshipmen and the performance of the defense.

“We had some good ball movement, drew some ejections, and had some nice goals,” Field said. “Our defense plays full team defense and is very strong.”

But the Crimson must continue to improve, as it travels next weekend to face Fordham, Iona, and No. 10 St. Francis, which beat Harvard last weekend.

“We’re a young team, and it’s the beginning of the season,” Field said. “We’re getting used to each other, and we’re constantly working and making sure that we’re coming together.”

—Staff writer Justin C. Wong can be reached at justincwong94@gmail.com.