Following up a perfect 3-0 start to its season last weekend, the No. 16 Harvard men’s water polo team battled for a split at Fordham University on Saturday. The Crimson (4-1) first lost to defending Northern Division champ Queens College 11-8, but pulled together in its second game to beat host Fordham 13-4.

The match against No. 14 Queens was close for its entirety, but the Knights pulled ahead at the very end to earn the victory.

“We didn’t play a good game defensively,” co-captain Alex Fisher said.

But despite not being at its best, the Crimson still lost by just three goals.

“We know that we didn’t play our game and we were still with them the whole way,” Fisher said.

Harvard was able to come back in the second game against Fordham, who finished next to last in the Northern Division last season.

“The Fordham game was a good chance for us to work on a lot of different things, like getting our defense back on track,” Fisher said.

Fordham managed just four goals against a more focused defense led by senior goaltender Paul Tselentis.

Coach Jim Floerchinger emptied his bench against Fordham, giving the non-starters valuable playing experience. The team lost nine seniors to graduation last year, and there is question about whether the team will lack depth. The Crimson returned just four starters and a goaltender who started about half the team’s games.

Defense has always been a strong suit for the Crimson, and the team is working on improving its offense as well. Sophomore Rick Offsay played on the national junior team this past summer, and the Crimson’s opponents have been paying extra attention to him.

“A lot of teams are dropping on him and the team has to get used to that,” said Fisher. “When we do, the offense will get stronger.”

Harvard continues its quest to improve upon last season’s third-place finish at Eastern Championships as it travels next weekend to the Princeton Invitational.

—Staff writer Tamara P. Miller can be reached at tpmiller@fas.harvard.edu