Harvard water polo almost came of age last Saturday night at Blodgett Pool.

Matched against Brown, the longtime superpower in New England, the aquamen seemed on the verge of dethroning the Bruins as number one. Entering the contest, the team--in only its second year of varsity status--had won its last seven games and could boast of early-season victories over Bucknell and Fordham, numbers one and three in the East last year.

The stands were packed, the atmosphere electrified, and the Crimson psyched.

But Harvard lost.

The home team didn't go down without a fight. In an intensely played game, both teams scratched, clawed, and did everything else except foam at the mouth for every shot and every goal before Harvard finally succumbed late in the fourth period, 11-7.

After a brilliant third quarter--including two key goals by co-captain Houston Hall--the aquamen narrowly trailed the Bruins, 7-6. In the fourth period, however, Brown showed why they have never lost to Harvard and haven't dropped a New England match in six years.

Playing with poise under pressure, the visitors came through with the crucial first goal of the final period, and, despite the Crimson's retaliation on a Hall penalty shot, they kept pouring it on to out distance Harvard in the end by four goals. It was closer than the final score suggests.

In preludes to Saturday night's climax, Harvard easily defeated Columbia, 15-5, Friday, and UMass, 17-3, Saturday afternoon at Blodgett. The weekend tournament drew a total of six teams, but the aquamen did not play either Yale or MIT.

In the Brown game, lack of scoring from the usually sensational Dave Fasi, combined with inconsistent passing, kept the Crimson scoring output low. Scoring machine Fasi, playing with a sprained finger on his right hand, was kept out of the scoring column Saturday night by Ted Schlegl, Dick Rento and the rest of the Bruins' stingy defense.

Harvard goalie Rich Reid kept the aquamen within reach for most of the game, accumulating 11 saves over the course of the night. Meanwhile on offense, Steve Munatones augmented top-scorer Hall's three goals by chipping in two of his own, and juniors Phil Atkinson and Rich Guerra played inspired water polo throughout the game.

Earlier in the day against UMass, the Crimson cruised to a 9-1 halftime lead on the strength of goals by Munatones and Tim Maximoff and then let the regulars rest up for the Brown match-up. John Fisher, a senior, took advantage of a chance to see game action by bombarding the Minutemen with three goals and two assists in the second half. Yardlings John David and Brian Graham, a goalie, also saw action against UMass.

THE NOTEBOOK: Brown is only the second team to beat the aquamen this season, the other being the nation's top team, Stanford... With nine wins now to its credit, Harvard rolls into Providence, R.I., in two weeks with a chance to avenge Saturday's defeat. Stay tuned.