Atkinson was one of five Harvard players to record at least one goal in the game, but the true standout was senior goalie Nikhil Balaraman.

“With the mistakes in the first half, we were putting [Balaraman] in a position where it was extremely difficult to block the ball,” Voith said.

Balaraman responded to the high demands with 11 saves in the match.

“Nikhil was the man, make sure you put that in the paper,” Atkinson said. “He was absolutely the man. He blocked a five meter, and two one-on-nobodies...For people who don’t understand water polo, he came up with some one-in-a-hundred saves today.”

The second half marked a positive change in play for the Crimson, especially offensively, but the Bears held onto the lead to hand Harvard its first Northern Division loss.

“[Brown] has a very good team this year, so we hope we get to meet them in the postseason and reverse this [loss], because we’re going to be...coming for them,” Atkinson said.

The Crimson will close out its divisional play this weekend in a home game against Fordham. They will also take on St. Francis to close out the regular season. The team is especially focused on Saturday’s high-stakes match.

“It’s critical,” Farrar said. “[Fordham] has gotten us the last two times we’ve played them, so this is the time for some decisive payback.”