Men's Water Polo Sweeps Homestand

At the Bruno Fall Classic on Sep. 7, the Harvard men’s water polo team surrendered a three-goal fourth quarter lead against Ivy League rival Brown. On Saturday night at Blodgett Pool, the Crimson once again held a lead going into the final eight minutes of the game against the Bears.

But this time, Harvard was able to hold on, avenging its loss to Brown earlier in the season, 6-5. The victory was the highlight of the Crimson’s three-game weekend sweep, which also included wins over Connecticut College and local rival MIT.

Harvard (7-8, 5-1 CWPA Northern) started off its first homestand of the season strong on Saturday with a 16-3 routing of the Camels (1-10, 0-6 CWPA Northern). The Crimson was able to take down the Engineers (4-9, 3-3 CWPA Northern) on Sunday to cap off an undefeated weekend.

HARVARD 13, MIT 10

With the game knotted up at seven goals apiece late in the third period, Harvard freshman Viktor Wrobel fired a shot that looked to have crossed the goal line, but was not counted as a goal. On the very next Crimson possession, Wrobel left no doubt, firing one of his five goals to the back of the net to give Harvard a lead that it would never relinquish.

In the first period, The Crimson jumped out to a two goal lead it held for most of the game. MIT was able to tie the game up twice. Both times, however, Harvard was able to pull away, extending the team’s only winning streak of the season to four games.

“It got close,“ sophomore Noah Harrison said, "but we looked inside of ourselves…and got out there and put them away.”

Harrison and sophomore Ben Zepfel each added two goals to help edge the Engineers on Sunday. Harrison’s six goals on the weekend added to his team leading 32 scores on the season. Sophomore goalie Colin Woolway led the defensive effort for Harvard, registering six saves in Sunday’s victory.

“It was nice to walk out with a win,” co-captain Jimmy Field said. “[But] there are still things we can work on, as always. We’re constantly looking to improve ourselves. But today was a good win.”

HARVARD 6, BROWN 5

The Crimson was able to tally two goals in the third period to hold a two-goal lead going into the fourth period. Unable to add another goal, Harvard relied on stout defense to help preserve the win. The Bears were only able to put one goal past Woolway in the fourth period as Harvard was able to cling to a one-goal lead as the clock expired.

Woolway provided four crucial saves in the game, helping hold the Crimson lead even after the offense stalled late in the second half.

“I’d say our defense [was the difference],” Harrison said. “We had way fewer letdowns on defense this time. We played as a team.”

Harvard opened the scoring on Saturday night, jumping out to a 3-1 lead. Brown quickly responded, however, recording three unanswered goals to take the lead.

But the Bears’ lead was short-lived. The Crimson quickly erased the deficit, tying the game at four goals going into halftime before taking the lead for good.

“We really just had the mental fortitude,” Field said. “[We] didn’t let them reclaim the lead once we had it…it was our mental toughness.”

Colton led Harvard with two goals on the night.  Harrison and freshman Dan Stevens also were integral members of the Crimson attack, each registering a goal and assist.

Saturday night’s win against Brown is the first for Harvard in their last 16 meetings, going all the way back to 2006.

HARVARD 16, CONNECTICUT COLLEGE 3

Eight players notched goals in the Crimson’s thrashing of Connecticut College in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Harvard built up a comfortable seven-goal lead in the first period en route to an easy victory against the one-win Camels. Connecticut College has yet to defeat the Crimson in men’s water polo.

Harrison, Wrobel, and Zepfel each recorded hat tricks on the day to lead a balanced Harvard attack. Both Field and Woolway performed well in net, each saving five shots on goal.

Sophomores Robbie Fluegge and Chris Miao and freshman Joey Colton also propelled the Crimson offense, each providing two assists.

Harvard improved its record in the CWPA Northern Division to 5-1 with its three wins this weekend.

“We came in really wanting to win,” Field said. “We really wanted to go 3-0 [on the weekend]. And that’s what we did.”