From its opening sweep of its home tournament to its recent defeat of nationally-ranked CSU East Bay, the Harvard women’s water polo team (11-9) has stepped up its game all season long. The sophomore-infused lineup has proven itself against squads from across the country, but there’s one opponent they’ve been waiting for all season: the one that keeps getting away.

For the Crimson’s seniors, Brown (18-10) has remained elusive for the first three years in uniform. Tonight’s 8 p.m. home game against the Bears is the first of what will likely be the last three or four chances for the seniors to beat Brown for the first time in their collegiate careers. Co-captains Kelly Peeler and Kristina Bergquist, and classmate Roxanne Pinto are now 0-10 against the Bears.

Last year was particularly heartbreaking, as Harvard suffered three one-goal losses at the hands of Brown, the last of which was an overtime defeat in the Northern Division Championships.

“It’s a longstanding and hotly-contested bitter rivalry,” Crimson coach Erik Farrar said. “We’re definitely looking to stick it to them. It should be a fun game.”

This just might be the year for the Harvard seniors to finally knock off their bitter rival.

Though Brown comes into the matchup ranked 20th in the country, the task of taking down a ranked opponent might seem less daunting than usual, since the Crimson has already beaten one—then-No. 19 CSU East Bay­—two weeks ago. Meanwhile, the Bears have lost all three of their games against nationally-ranked opponents. While the loss to No.1 Southern California was perhaps not surprising, Brown’s loss against No. 18 UC Davis suggests that Harvard can be competitive with its rival.

“Brown’s one of our biggest games,” junior Shami Entenman said. “It will be a very evenly matched water polo game.”

In the midst of its successful season, the Crimson has garnered numerous individual recognition. Sophomore Devan Kennifer has twice been named the Northern Division Player of the Week, classmate Laurel McCarthy has earned Defensive Player of the Week nods, and freshman Elise Molner was named Northern Division Rookie of the Week.

During the team’s trip to California last month, Kennifer logged three hat tricks and posted 11 goals in six games. But the reigning Northern Division Rookie of the Year, who also recorded seven steals during that stretch, has hardly been Harvard’s only offensive weapon. In the team’s most recent game—a 10-8 loss to Marist—it was freshman Aisha Price who recorded the hat trick and sophomore Shannon Purcell who added two goals.

But Kennifer and the rest of the Crimson attack won’t have easy looks on net tonight as long as Bears senior Stephanie Laing stays between the posts. Laing earned her fifth Defensive Player of the Week nod yesterday. Earlier this season, the goaltender was named Northern Division Player of the Week for three straight weeks and became only the second player in league history to do so.

“I think she’s a really good goalie,” Entenman said. “We’ve been practicing a lot and hopefully [she] won’t get in our way.”

Laing’s presence in goal could spell trouble for a Harvard team that is 1-7 when it fails to score in double digits. Making matters even more daunting, the Crimson will face the reigning Northern Division Co-players of the Week in senior attackers Lauren Presant and Sarah Glick. The two combined for 29 goals and 22 assists in seven games, and Presant was one of 40 players to be invited to the Speedo Top 40, a round robin tournament and national team tryout this past October.

“Both teams know each other very well,” Farrar said. “There will be very few surprises.”

Both teams’ goal scorers and goaltenders usually gain the most attention of opposing teams. But according to Farrar, the matchup at center will be another focal point. Freshman Elise Molner will look to make a splash in her first conference game ever, as she will face Brown junior Joanna Wohlmuth.

“There are some strong centers [on both sides],” Farrar said. “Both are capable of ejections and strong kick outs.”

With the arrival of Molner and the continued emergence of strong sophomores such as Kennifer and McCarthy, Harvard has a chance to challenge the Bears’ recent dominance. The young lineup has been making waves all season, but a win against Brown would show that the squad can truly compete with quality teams in its division.

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.