The Harvard men’s water polo team extended its winning streak to eight last night, routing MIT 13-5 at Blodgett Pool.

“This was close to our best game, and definitely a big step towards top play,” Harvard coach Jim Floerchinger said. “We really can’t improve, but only make refinements.”

The win closed out the regular season for the No. 15 Crimson, who next competes in three straight regional championships in its bid to make the NCAA tournament.

The Engineers surprised Harvard with their strong initial play, scoring the first two gaols of the night.

“We were off to a rocky start,” co-captain Alex Fisher said. “Fortunately, we were able to regain our composure.”

The Crimson (15-4, 12-1 CWPA) responded emphatically, scoring 11 unanswered goals as they took control of the match.

The Crimson’s splurge of goals allowed Harvard coach Jim Floerchinger to give most of his players game experience.

“The evening went quite well,” Floerchinger said. “We got as many people into the water as possible. After we backed MIT up enough, we could maintain a larger rotation.”

One player who stayed in the entire game was freshman goaltender Robbie Burmeister. Burmeister—who splits goaltending duties with senior Paul Tselentis—made key saves during Harvard’s 11-goal run to keep the Engineers from regaining any momentum.

Floerchinger said a larger rotation will provide an advantage for Harvard as it enters the tournament portion its season.

Harvard next travels to Annapolis this weekend for the ECAC Championships hosted by Navy.

The Crimson will host the Northern Championships the following weekend, but the team is focused most on the Eastern Championships Nov. 16-17.

“Our goal is to win Easterns this year,” co-captain Mike Masterson said. “We’re talented and have lots of potential this year. We’re looking forward to playing well.”

The Eastern title would give the Crimson an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Harvard finished third at

Easterns last season.

“We’re perfectly capable of winning the tournament if we put together three good games,” Fisher said.

—Contributing writer Jane V. Evans can be reached at jvevans@fas.harvard.edu