The men’s water polo team found itself treading familiar water in its final game of the ECACs.

Facing MIT for the second time this week, Harvard was eager to avenge its one-goal loss from Thursday night. As the game wound down, the Crimson trailed the Engineers by one, fighting for a seventh-place finish.

But ghosts of water polo games past came back to haunt Harvard, and it was unable to put away MIT, losing 8-7.

The Crimson also dropped its second game of the tournament against Johns Hopkins by just one goal, 10-9. The team lost to Bucknell in the opener 10-3, and the three losses dropped the fourth-seeded Crimson down to eighth place in the tournament.

MIT 8, HARVARD 7

Though the result was the same as the last time these cross-town rivals met, this time it was the Crimson who jumped out to a strong lead.

“We played great defense and countered really hard which led to some quick, easy goals,” co-captain Robbie Burmeister said.

The Crimson’s offense throughout the game was led by junior co-captain Michael Garcia, who scored four goals, and junior Alessandro Lazzarini, who tallied two.

Harvard claimed a quick 4-1 lead, just as MIT did on Thursday night. But as the game went on, the aggressiveness the Crimson came out with waned, enabling the Engineers to inch back.

During both the second and third quarters, MIT capitalized on the 6-on-5s they were awarded as Harvard players drew penalties. The Crimson wasn’t playing as high in the water, Burmeister explained, which enabled the Engineers to capitalize on their weaknesses.

Though the Crimson had opportunities of its own to tie the game during the fourth quarter, the players were unable to execute effectively.

“We played a lot better than we have against them last week and the first time we played them,” Garcia said, “but I think we just have to get past the point where, once we start out strong, we have to just finish it and keep going.”

JOHNS HOPKINS 10, HARVARD 9

Harvard demonstrated its ability to compete with—but not defeat—its competitors on Saturday afternoon.

Burmeister was sidelined and freshman goalie Jay Connelly took the cage. His defensive play kept the Crimson competitive, but the offense could not muster enough strength to overpower Johns Hopkins.