Men’s Water Polo Win Streak Continues, Sinks Rival Princeton in Sudden Death

No. 14 Harvard Men’s water polo (11-2, 3-0 NWPC) extended its win streak to six games last weekend with another trifecta of victories over conference foes on the road. The undefeated weekend allowed Harvard to leapfrog to first place in the Northeastern Water Polo Conference, a position that it continued to solidify with a win over Brown yesterday.

The Crimson’s successful weekend began with a 24-12 annihilation of Long Island University (6-9, 1-2 NWPC), followed up by a convincing 13-7 win over Iona University (7-9, 2-3 NWPC), and culminating in a 17-16 sudden death thriller against rival No. 9 Princeton (13-5, 4-1 NWPC).

“Fighting through the low points,” freshman attacker Dean Strauser said, explaining the key to Harvard’s success. “We’ve dealt with a lot of injuries and missing practices. We fight through those low points and stick together and pick each other up. Our team chemistry has been looking good the past two weekends.”

Harvard 24, LIU 12

Harvard continued its winning ways in the Big Apple, shellacking the LIU Sharks to the tune of a 24-12 victory. Four members of the Crimson netted hat tricks — junior center James Rozolis-Hill, senior attacker Owen Hale, sophomore attacker Jack Burghardt, and freshman attacker Lukas Peabody — highlighting the squad’s balanced offensive firepower.

Rozolis-Hill, Harvard’s top scorer, wasted no time in making his presence felt, netting his hat trick within the first eight minutes of the contest. The marksman’s precision set the tone for the team, as the Crimson quickly jumped to a 9-2 lead after one period.

Harvard continued to pile on the pressure, with Hale and Burghardt putting the game out of reach. At the same time, junior goalkeeper Tanner Furtak’s eight saves helped keep the sharks at bay. Harvard’s dominance allowed for squad rotations, resulting in Peabody netting his first hat trick for the Crimson in the decisive victory.

Harvard 13, Iona 7

Harvard’s momentum carried into the second game of the Saturday doubleheader, where the team gutted out a 13-7 victory over the Iona Gaels. Rozolis-Hill continued his dominance, scoring a whopping six goals in the contest, while Hale contributed another hat trick in the Harvard win.

The teams battled early, constantly exchanging leads in the first period. It appeared that the squads would be stuck at a 3-3 standstill at the midway point, but a half court heave as time expired put Harvard on top 4-3 after period one.

Defense stood tall to start the second period, but after a relentless series of close range shots, Rozolis-Hill’s tap-in found the back of the net to turn the tide in Harvard’s favor. The Crimson capitalized on the momentum, ending the period on a 3-1 run to lead 8-4 at the halftime break.

Two Harvard goals in the first minute of the third period left the Gaels shell shocked and looking for answers. The Crimson was unforgiving, punishing the Gaels for lapses on defense, as Harvard cruised to a 13-7 victory.

Harvard 17, Princeton 16 (Sudden Death)

Finally, the Crimson traveled to New Jersey for its marquee matchup against longtime rival No. 9 Princeton. Harvard had lost four out of its last five matchups against the Tigers, with its lone victory coming in double overtime last October. The Crimson’s resilience was on full display in the contest, twice staving off defeat in the dying seconds of the contest. Strauser led the charge, netting a game-high seven goals, four of which were scored after regulation.

The game seemed to go awry for the Crimson early, with the Tigers jumping to a quick 3-0 lead. But sophomore attacker Vilas Soogard-Srikrishnan scored an important goal to dim Princeton’s momentum, and Burghard’s shot deflecting in from the post made it a 3-2 contest. In the waning seconds of the period, junior utilityman JP Ohl lobbed the ball over Furtak’s head, giving Princeton a 4-2 advantage.

The Tigers netted a quick goal to start the second period, but Harvard responded with a 3-0 run, scoring all three on the power play, to equalize 5-5. The Tigers secured two more goals and appeared to have seized control in the game, but a long-range missile from Strauser kept Harvard within one. Princeton conceded a late penalty, but Hale’s shot deflected off the crossbar, securing Princeton a 7-6 halftime lead.

Harvard opened the third period with renewed intensity, determined to claim control of the game. Rozolis-Hill delivered an equalizer, followed up by a patented Strauser near-post goal in transition, giving Harvard its first lead of the contest. The teams exchanged goals, ending the period in a 9-9 stalemate, setting up for an intense fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was a tense and dramatic affair, with both teams exchanging crucial blows. The Tigers missed an early penalty shot, but Furtak was flagged for putting the ball underwater, conceding another penalty shot. The Tigers did not waste the second chance, scoring the penalty to go up 10-9. Rozolis-Hill responded quickly, lofting a precise lob over the Princeton goalkeeper to knot it at 10-10. The teams continued to exchange goals, but Harvard found itself trailing 12-11 with just over a minute to go.

After a brief timeout, the Crimson came up short on the ensuing offensive possession, turning the ball over. However, the defense remained firm, forcing Princeton into a shot clock violation with 14 seconds remaining. Harvard emptied the net for one final last-gasp offensive push.

The hero was the freshman phenom Peabody. The Bishop Academy product capped off his fantastic weekend by equalizing the contest on a deep shot with three seconds left, send the game to OT in a frenzy.

“One of the things that pushed us through is our coach,” the veteran Strauser said on the team’s resilience. “He never thinks that we’re out of it. He had all the faith in the world in Lukas to hit that shot and tie it up. He stressed the fact that he’s not on this bus to lose to Princeton.”

The battle of titans continued, with the two teams exchanging goal after goal in OT. The Tigers seemingly pulled away with a 16-14 lead late in the second OT period. But sophomore attacker Jacob Tsotadze scored to pull Harvard within one. Again, Harvard mounted a final offensive as Strauser scored his third goal of OT, a nasty skip shot near post to equalize with three seconds remaining again, sending the game to sudden death.

The Tigers wasted their first and only possession in sudden death, as the Crimson raced to the other end of the pool. After a common foul, Strauser fired a powerful shot across the cage that deflected off the goalkeeper into the back of the net, sealing the game for Harvard 17-16.

“I had three goals going into OT so the confidence was all there,” Strauser said. “I knew I could beat this goalie and how to beat this goalie. I trusted all the practice that we had on the goalie that the ball would go in.”

After the thrilling end to its road swing, Harvard returns to Blodgett Pool this weekend trying to continue its hot streak in matchups against Brown (7-4, 2-1 NWPC) and cross-city rival MIT (3-9, 0-3 NWPC). So far, the home contests have been just as successful as the road battles last weekend, with Harvard starting the weekend with a comfortable 18-10 win over the Bears yesterday.

The Crimson’s match-up against MIT will start at 7:00 p.m. tonight, with streaming available on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Oscar E. Mercado can be reached at oscar.mercado@thecrimson.com.