The Harvard women’s water polo team forced Hartwick into overtime with strong defense and a game-tying goal from Teresa Codini, but the Crimson fell 9-5 to the Hawks in its final game of the Eastern Championships.

The Harvard women’s water polo team continued its string of impressive tournament performances this season, taking sixth at the Eastern Championships held this weekend at Blodgett Pool.

Entering the tournament, the Crimson (11-16) was seeded sixth in the strong, twelve-team field that represented the toughest competition the squad has faced all season.

Harvard 6, Villanova 4

Behind stellar goalkeeping from junior goalkeeper Elana Miller, the Crimson virtually shut down the Wildcats’ attack on Friday.

Posting 12 saves, Miller smothered Villanova’s offense, blocking and controlling the vast majority of shots hurled her way while safely deflecting most others out of harm’s way.

“It was one of the best games I’ve seen her play,” co-captain Tiana Peterson said.

Three of the four goals the Wildcats (10-20) netted came during man-up situations.

But Miller’s defense was formidable under all other circumstances, as the squad routinely shut down Villanova’s offensive sets and clamped down on attempted counterattacks—one of the Crimson’s trademark weaknesses.

“They didn’t have a fast team,” sophomore Teresa Codini said. “But they ran many people into sets, so we had to be aware of all the players in the school and to help back.”

On the afternoon, the Wildcats managed only two breakaway opportunities, each of which was thwarted by the time it reached the goal mouth.

“It’s something we’ve been working on the last two weeks,” Peterson said. “Our coaches have been bugging us, and we were determined to not allow any in this game. We have a lot of speed on this team, and there’s no reason we can’t swim back and stop anybody.”

The strong defense led to a dominating presence at the other end as well.

Miller wisely and precisely distributed the ball, igniting offensive thrusts across mid-pool.

“Second to blocking, she did a great job giving us counterattacks,” Peterson said. “All the counterattack goals that I had were in large part to Elana’s credit.”

Peterson scored twice, including the game-winner.