Women's Water Polo Wins Seven of Nine Games on Road Trip

The Harvard women’s water polo team didn’t let a 1-2 start to the nine-game California swing bring them down too far.

If anything, it made the team more focused, ready to adjust, and hungry for wins.

Led by the rock-solid goalkeeping of sophomore Cleo Harrington, the No. 19 Crimson (18-4) bounced back in a big way amidst the busiest schedule of the year, sweeping the last six games of its annual California run to post a 7-2 road trip record. Along the way, Harvard defeated three top-25 opponents.

“When we go on this California trip, it’s really an opportunity to play non-conference games against very good teams, to work on situational things for conference play,” Harvard coach Ted Minnis said. “I was really happy with the adjustments we made over our couple days off.”

HARVARD 9, UC SANTA BARBARA 8

With the game against No. 13 UCSB (12-9) knotted at eight with under a minute left in the fourth quarter, Minnis called a timeout to draw up a plan of attack. The Crimson took advantage of a late exclusion penalty, as junior attacker Michelle Martinelli tossed in the winning goal two seconds before the final buzzer sounded to sink the Gauchos, 9-8.

“All that was in her head, was ‘I do not want to play overtime’, and she just whipped it into the cage, and it was amazing,” senior attacker Yoshi Andersen said. “She got the fall-in shot and really just wasn’t going to leave that game without having put that shot away.”

Earlier in the fourth, in the span of 48 seconds, Martinelli struck twice to give Harvard a two-goal lead, but UCSB clawed its way back to tie the game with 32 seconds remaining.

Harrington closed out her solid weekend by adding 15 saves in goal, several of which were key breakaway one-on-one opportunities for UCSB.

HARVARD 7 , SANTA CLARA 5

Harvard built a 5-1 lead ten minutes into the game against the Broncos (6-10) on a pair of goals from Martinelli. Another pair from senior attacker Rachel Lobato helped the Crimson maintain a two-goal cushion throughout the game, as it went on to defeat Santa Clara, 7-5.

“We talk about controlling the clock, and the possessions--making them matter,” Minnis said. “Being focused on the little details was big for us on this trip and in those close games.”

The Broncos struck first on a goal from 2015 GCC Honorable Mention All-Conference senior Elizabeth Anderson, but Harvard responded with five unanswered to take control. The Crimson took advantage of lax Bronco defense on the counterattack to tally four of those scores in the first quarter.

Santa Clara scored with 0:00.4 on the clock to close out the first half, but Harvard still rode its 5-3 halftime lead to victory.

HARVARD 10, AZUSA PACIFIC 8

Two-time 2016 WWPA Div I/II Defensive Player of the Week Harrington posted a career-high 20 saves to power the Crimson to a 10-8 win over the Cougars (7-16) in the backend of the LMU Invitational.

The sophomore standout, who bested her previous mark of 17 stops, received goal support from freshman attacker Kristen Hong, who scored thrice, and proficient scoring strikes from six different Harvard players.

HARVARD 7, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY 4

The No. 14 host Lions (8-14) were unable to break through against Harrington and the Crimson defense despite an abundance of man-advantage opportunities, and Harvard pulled the upset, 7-4. Although LMU freshman goalie Sky Flores recorded 11 saves in the Lions loss, the offense was ineffectual, as the Crimson managed to shut out the hosts in the first half.

Junior attacker Melissa Balding matched the entire LMU team with four goals. Martinelli and senior attacker Charlotte Hendrix provided three more goals of offense to help Harvard to its first ever win over the Lions.

HARVARD 18, REDLANDS 3

The Crimson made short work of struggling Redlands (3-15) in the second game of its Northridge doubleheader. Nine different Harvard players scored, and although the Bulldogs netted two first-quarter goals, a 8-2 halftime lead was more than enough for the Crimson to hold on to.

“Just playing with a lot of heart, passion, being selfless in the water, allowed us to [carry over] the consistency from the defensive end to the offensive end,” Andersen said.

Freshman goalie Sam Acker made nine stops in goal, while the offense kept its foot on the gas with six goals in the third quarter.

HARVARD 15, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE 13

Just four days after playing in the Aztec Invitational to open the team’s annual California trip, Harvard headed north to take on No. 25 CSUN (8-14), where it defeated the host Matadors in a 15-13 shootout.

The Crimson led 11-5 at the half, but Harrington’s 12 saves in goal was instrumental in fending off CSUN’s comeback attempt in the second half. Harvard’s 14-11 lead heading into the final frame held steady as both teams tightened up their defenses, and the Crimson’s effective clock management prevented any realistic comeback attempt.

Hendrix tallied four goals and Andersen scored three more to lead Harvard. The senior duo was backed up by the trio of Balding, Martinelli, and Hong, who chipped in with two goals apiece.