With Weekend Wins, Women's Water Polo Off to Best Start Since 1995

On the road in Princeton, N.J., the No. 15 Harvard women’s water polo team completed another tournament sweep using more stifling defense and timely goals.

Despite playing a pair of ranked opponents, the rising Crimson (8-1) pulled out close win after close win and is off to its best start since 1995.

Harvard opened its Princeton Invitational slate by outlasting No. 23 Cal Baptist, 8-4, before squeaking past No. 22 Wagner, 7-6, by way of shutting out the Seahawks’ offense in the fourth quarter. The Crimson closed out the tournament by surging offensively in the fourth quarter to take the victory over Villanova, 11-9.

“Playing the competitive teams that we’ve been playing, we knew that producing a lot wins was something we were capable of,” junior attacker Melissa Balding said. “And this year, to actually do it, has been pretty good.”

In posting a 3-0 tournament record, Harvard finished undefeated at the Princeton Invitational for the first time.

HARVARD 11, VILLANOVA 9

By the end of the third quarter of the bout between the Crimson and the Wildcats (3-5), the 8-8 deadlock made it clear that February’s rematch would be a much a different animal than Harvard’s 14-4 season-opening victory over the same Villanova team.

The Crimson’s most consistent scorers, however, ensured that Harvard still came out on top. In the final frame of play, Balding notched her fourth goal of the game to give the Crimson a 9-8 lead, which was then followed up by goals from senior attacker Yoshi Andersen and freshman attacker Kristen Hong to seal the victory. Coming into weekend play, the trio had accounted for over half of Harvard’s 71 goals on the season.

“We’ve been working a lot in practice on different end-of-the-game situations that have prepared us to be mentally and physically aware in close games,” Balding said.

On the other end of the pool, freshman goalie Sam Acker tallied nine stops in goal in her third start of the season.

The Crimson’s season sweep of Villanova marks the second year in a row that Harvard has taken both games from the Wildcats, going 4-0 in those contests.

HARVARD 7, WAGNER 6

Another closely-fought and oft-tied game proved to be no problem for the Crimson.

Sophomore defender Hollis Jomo played the role of unlikely hero, scoring her first goal of the season late in the third quarter to put Harvard ahead, 6-5, after it either tied or trailed the No. 22 Seahawks (7-7) all match long. The Crimson used the spark to hold on to the win by the slimmest of margins, 7-6.

Wagner tied the game briefly on a goal by freshman attacker Erica Hardy, but senior attacker Charlotte Hendrix pushed Harvard out front for good no less than 13 seconds thereafter. The one-goal lead heading into the final frame held firm as both offenses were held scoreless in the fourth.

“I’ve said it all season long, everything we do starts on the defensive end,” Harvard coach Ted Minnis said. “We were able to shut them out in the fourth quarter.”

Neither team led by more than one goal at any point during the 32 minutes.

As part of its success, the Crimson was able to hold senior attacker and reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Offensive Player of the Year in senior attacker Jesse Lundgren to just one goal on the game.

HARVARD 8, CAL BAPTIST 4

Both No. 23 Cal Baptist (7-5) and Harvard entered Saturday morning’s bout having won five of their last six matches, but the Crimson knocked off the Lancers to preserve its own winning streak.

Sophomore goalie Cleo Harrington anchored a defense that held the Cal Baptist offense quiet for most of the match. Harrington would go on to make 22 stops in goal on the day.

On the offensive end, Harvard’s lineup of goal-scorers gave Harrington sufficient support in the form of three goals from Hong, and a pair each from Andersen and junior attacker Michelle Martinelli.

—Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bhu01@college.harvard.edu.