No. 8 Harvard Women’s Water Polo Succeeds in Saturday Sweep, Extends Longest Active Winning Streak in Top 10

No. 8 Harvard women’s water polo (16-1, 7-0 CWPA) completed a successful Saturday sweep, this time against two ranked opponents: No. 25 Brown (11-10, 3-4 CWPA) and No. 21 Marist (10-7).

In their first road matches of the season, the Crimson remained dominant in Rhode Island, securing Head Coach Ted Minnis’ 250th career win. Harvard also extended its winning streak to 14, the longest active streak in the CWPA top 10, breaking a tie with No. 1 Stanford.

Harvard 15, Brown 9

The Crimson started its first road match of the season down 0-1 against Brown following an early goal in the upper corner of the net. However, sophomore attacker Maya O’Dea then responded with a quick point to even out the score.

The Bears attempted to score several times and put pressure on Harvard’s net but were largely held back by the Crimson’s characteristic physical defense.

Scoring again off of a penalty shot, O’Dea put Harvard up for a moment until Brown’s offense got ahead of the Crimson defense on a long pass to tie 2-2.

O’Dea earned an impressive hat trick before the end of the first period despite the Bears’ aggressive front. Sophomore attacker Lucy Berkman scored a fourth point off a quick assist from junior utility Heidi Heffelfinger to maintain the Crimson’s lead at the end of the first eight minutes.

Both teams put together aggressive plays and equally solid defenses throughout the match. Brown managed to score within the first minute of the second period, finding a rare open space in the Harvard block to tie it up again at 4-4.

The Bears forced the Crimson to concede several turnovers, continuing their promising start, but were denied goals on many occasions, once by an electrifying shut-down block from O’Dea.

Harvard flipped a switch halfway through the second period and ramped up the pace of its game. A penalty goal and tricky lob shot, capped off by a shot by sophomore center defender Emma Gilbert, earned the Crimson some breathing room in the form of a two-point lead for the first time in the match.

In the third quarter, the Bears again scored an early point as the Harvard defense struggled to close some gaps due to exclusions granting its opponent power-play opportunities.

A goal from senior utility Dany Zapata out of transition nearly halfway through the quarter reinvigorated the Crimson and initiated a string of Harvard points, closing out the third quarter at a comfortable 10-7 lead.

The fourth period started the strongest for the Crimson, with Gilbert completing her own hat trick in the first minute.

With a quick point out of a timeout and a return to its unforgiving defense, Harvard’s growing lead seemingly discouraged the Bears. Senior attacker Erin Kim scored a long skipping goal, followed by back-to-back goals from Gilbert and freshman defense Niki Piovan.

The Crimson’s speedy ball control and dominant defense ultimately proved too much for Brown, especially after one of the Bears’ leading players was ejected near the end of the match.

Harvard 13, Marist 9

Maintaining its goal of holding opponents under 10 goals, Harvard again proved its skill in the Saturday afternoon matchup against the Marist Red Foxes.

Dominating in both matches, O’Dea accomplished her second hat trick of the day. In an impressive show of teamwork for the Harvard offense, Piovan and Gilbert combined for five goals and five assists.

Heffelfinger also scored two goals of her own, putting Marist in a difficult position to mount any kind of comeback. Despite being on the road after a long winning streak in its home pool, the Crimson appeared comfortable and adaptable in nearly every situation.

With the win, Harvard has the longest active winning streak in the CWPA top 10. Before the afternoon match, the Crimson’s streak had been tied with No. 1 Stanford, who the team will face on March 22 in Palo Alto, CA.

Before then, Harvard will encounter its toughest stretch of the season next weekend as it travels to the Aztec Invitational in San Diego. Their first match will be against No. 2 University of Southern California on March 15 at 12:20 p.m. EST.