POMONA-PITZER 10, HARVARD 9

Despite the Crimson’s early momentum in the tournament, the team fell 10-9 to No. 18 Pomona-Pitzer College (8-8) late Friday night.

According to Minnis, the loss was disappointing, but Harvard’s performance against the Sagehens was, in his opinion, the best of the weekend.

“We played four solid quarters against a ranked team, and we showed ourselves that we can play with those teams,” Minnis said.

Friday’s loss to Pomona-Pitzer was the fourth consecutive match in the series dating back to 2005 to go in favor of the Sagehens and be decided by three goals or less.

HARVARD 12, OCCIDENTAL 8

The Crimson kick-started its run through California with a 12-8 win over Occidental College (2-12) on Friday. Harvard was led by a strong performance from junior co-captain Luka Babic and senior Jeff Lee, who had a combined total of seven goals and five assists.

The Crimson commanded the first period, 5-3, and doubled its lead to 8-4 by halftime. The matchup against Occidental may have been a strong offensive effort from Harvard, which maintained the lead throughout the game, but the men attributed credit to the defense and junior goalie Alexandre Popp, who had eight saves and an assist.

“Our defense was definitely the key,” Thompson said. “[The team] really came together as a group in a lot of ways this weekend. It’s a lot about working as a unit and communicating with each other. It was a lot more cohesive.”