The Harvard men’s water polo team splashed into action this past week with big waves. At the Cambridge Invitational, the Crimson made some headway and took some tough hits to end the first week of play with a 2-2-1 record.

The season began with a tough tie to FIU and then proceeded from there in seesaw fashion. Harvard topped Washington and Jefferson before losing to the New York Athletic Club on Saturday—the second day of the tournament—and then beat the club team from Yale 15-5 on Sunday morning and following that result with a tough 8-7 loss to rival Brown.

Next up for the Crimson are the ECAC Championships—though the team will have two weeks to get into the swing of the season.

BROWN 8, HARVARD 7

The Bears (4-0-0) scored four straight goals in the second half and held off a late charge by the Crimson to escape Cambridge with an 8-7 win.

The teams entered the second half tied at two apiece. After answering a Brown goal by scoring on its first two possessions of the second half, Harvard could put one in the Bears’ net until only freshman 2MD Egen Atkinson scored 3:10 was left in the game. That score made it 8-6, Brown.

“We made some mind-numbingly silly and unnecessary defensive errors,” Crimson coach Erik Farrar said. “[The Bears] worked hard for a couple of their goals, but we have got to do a better job.”

Junior driver Chris Ludwick would score his third goal of the game with 1:38 left to pull within one, but Harvard could not tie it up on their final possession.

“We shot very badly,” Farrar said. “Their goalie made some decent saves, but we also tended to throw in the area where he is more likely to get an arm. It just can’t continue.”

Ludwick led the team with his three goals today, while freshman 2MO Spencer Livingston added two. Livingston is one of five freshman who scored their first career goals over the weekend.

“We are not used to having a strong hole set like Spencer,” sophomore goalie Jay Connolly said. “We are integrating them into our system. We have a lot of speed and depth, which will help us when we get our stuff together...we just need to pull it together to be as strong as we can.”

Last year, Brown won two of its three matches against the Crimson.

HARVARD 15, YALE 5

The Crimson made quick work of the Elis, routing them 15-5 in their fourth game of MIT’s Cambridge Invitational.

“Yale is a club team, but it is always good to see the scoreboard after pounding Yale into the grounds,” Connolly said.

The five goals allowed by Harvard to its Ivy League rival were the fewest it has given up in a game on the season so far.

NYACK 12, HARVARD 7

Harvard could not maintain that momentum from the first game, succumbing to the New York Athletic Club, 12-7.

However, in the second match of the day, the NYAC gave Harvard a taste of its own medicine. The Crimson watched the NYAC open an early 4-1 lead by the end of the first quarter.

HARVARD 16, WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON 7

On the second day of the Invitational, the Crimson tasted both victory and defeat. To open the day, Harvard convincingly won its first match over Washington & Jefferson, 16-7.

A strong offensive presence in the beginning gave the Crimson an early advantage. Precision shooting allowed Harvard to score on the first four attempts on goal. Despite two goals by the Presidents, the Crimson rattled off five unanswered goals to extend the lead to 9-2 and never looked back.

HARVARD 9, FIU 9

On Friday at the Cambridge Invitational, Harvard encountered an equally armed and prepared Florida International University to open the season. With the year’s first test of strength, Harvard failed to topple the Panthers, managing a 9-9 draw.

After snatching a quick 3-0 lead in the starting quarter, FIU allowed a Crimson comeback to tie things up at 4-4 by the end of the period. Defensive pressure and lax offense created few opportunities at the net for either team. By halftime, the score stood at 5 goals apiece.

Following the whistle, Harvard attacked with renewed strength, creating a 9-7 lead by the end of regulation. A series of events created opportunities on goal for the Panthers who quickly pounced upon the chance and scored two goals in the final two minutes.

—Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkirby@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Vincent R. Oletu can be reached at voletu@fas.harvard.edu.