Men's Water Polo Posts 5-0 Record at Santa Clara Bronco Invite

UPDATED: November 2, 2015, at 1:59 a.m.

The Harvard men’s water polo team (14-8, 6-3 CWPA Northern) traveled across the country to California this weekend, where it swept the Santa Clara Bronco Invite tournament for the second consecutive year.

The team won three games against ranked West Coast opponents and finished the tournament with a 5-0 record overall.

But the Crimson’s strong final result didn’t arise until a crucial performance from junior co-captain Joey Colton.

Sitting on a four-game winning streak, the Crimson entered a second overtime period against the University of California, Davis with the score tied at nine apiece.

Colton quickly put Harvard ahead with his second go-ahead goal of the day, firing a shot into the back of the net just minutes into the period. But then, Colton did his part on the defensive end as well, coming up with the game-saving block in the final seconds to clinch the victory.

“We were stoked to play in California,” said junior defender Dan Stevens on the tournament. “That said, we were playing a lot of teams ranked higher than we were. We were perceived as underdogs by many of the teams there.”

HARVARD 10, UC DAVIS 9 (OT)

The Aggies (14-7, 3-0 WWPA) jumped out to a 5-3 lead at halftime despite a first-half hat trick from co-captain Ben Zepfel.

The game marked the first time during the tournament that the Crimson faced a deficit heading into the second half, but the defense held strong.

Highly touted freshman goalkeeper Anthony Ridgley had several key second-half stops.

But Harvard could not have come back without work on the offensive end as well.

Colton and senior attacker Noah Harrison combined for second-half goals to send the match to overtime.

Harrison’s strike in the final minute was especially important, serving as the equalizer.

Colton ultimately scored the game winner.

Harvard coach Ted Minnis noted that it was a defining moment to see the team pull out a win after playing five games in three days.

“We were pretty gassed at this point,” Minnis said. “The guys found a way to push through in overtime.”

Aggie freshman attacker Ido Goldschmidt recorded five goals in the loss. Meanwhile, Colton and Harrison, in addition to Zepfel, all ended the game with hat-tricks for Harvard.

The game marked the third upset of the tournament that Crimson was able to pull.

“We felt a bit shortchanged with our ranking,” Stevens said. “I think the way we played this weekend will give us this respect we deserve.”

HARVARD 9, AIR FORCE 8

Colton found a rhythm early, opening the game with a pair of goals to put Harvard ahead 2-0.

Air Force (6-13, 0-3) tied the game by halftime, but a third-quarter goal from Colton put the Crimson ahead for good.

Colton went on to score a game-high four goals, while senior Harvard goalkeeper Colin Woolway recorded eight saves to preserve the victory.

HARVARD 13, FRESNO PACIFIC 9

Harrison scored a game-high five goals and the Crimson used a seven-goal second-half effort to pull away from the Sunbirds (9-12, 1-2 Pacific West) in the Saturday nightcap.

Harvard took an early 4-1 lead, but Fresno Pacific came back to be within one goal, 6-5, at halftime. The Crimson proceeded to pull away with four tallies in the third quarter and three in the fourth.

HARVARD 7, SANTA CLARA 2

It was all about defense against the Broncos.

Behind Woolway, who led the defense with five saves, the Crimson shut out the host Broncos (9-15, 1-1 Golden Coast) in the second half.

Harrison, Colton, and senior Robbie Fluegge notched opening period scores to give the Crimson the early lead, and Harvard entered the second half protecting a 6-2 advantage.

The two goals-against also marks the lowest total the Crimson has allowed this season, and the first time Harvard has held its opponents to that mark since the 2010 season.

Santa Clara’s defeat came a day after it upset Brown, a team the Crimson has gone 0-3 against this season.

HARVARD 10, SAN JOSE STATE 8

With the opening game of the tournament tied at six going into the final quarter, freshman attacker Nick Bunn, sophomore utility Colin Chiapello, Stevens, and Colton each netted a goal apiece to send Harvard past San Jose State (3-19, 0-6 Mountain West).

The defense allowed just two goals in the fourth quarter to clinch the win for the Crimson.

Ridgley recorded 11 saves overall for the night.

This year’s Spartans squad is the first men’s water polo team to be fielded by San Jose State since 1981.

The reborn team has yet to find success, winning only three games thus far, but still managed to stay close through three quarters on Friday night before fading down the stretch.

This story has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: November 2, 2015

A previous version of this story misspelled freshman goaltender Anthony Ridgley's name.