“We were making them earn every inch that they tried to get in the pool, and I think that’s a big part of what we want to do here going forward,” Minnis said.

HARVARD 12, FORDHAM 7

On Saturday afternoon at Blodgett, the Crimson jumped out to a 2-1 lead midway through the first quarter and never gave it up in a dominant victory.

Harvard yielded few offensive opportunities to Fordham as junior co-captain Will Roller led the Crimson in scoring with a hat trick. Five Harvard goals in the third quarter, including a pair of successful penalty shots by Zepfel, put the game out of reach.

Harvard’s coach saw improvements as the game progressed.

“Energy-wise in the first half we weren’t clicking. We let in a couple of goals we probably should have stopped,” Minnis said. “We made some adjustments at half time, and we came out and did a better job on the defensive end.”

HARVARD 13, MIT 12

The Crimson outlasted the Engineers before a spirited crowd at MIT’s Zesiger Aquatic Center Friday night.

The two squads battled to a 7-7 tie in the first half before Harvard broke away in the third frame, outscoring MIT 4-1. The Crimson added two more goals in the fourth quarter to hold off a late MIT surge.

The clangs of pots and pans filled the air as members of MIT’s Delta Upsilon fraternity chapter cheered on brothers playing for the Engineers.

“It was impossible to hear anything in the pool,” Murphy said. “I think it made us come together as team, because you really have to rely on communication in the pool and communication between players when you’re in an atmosphere like that.”

With the win, Harvard draws even with MIT in the teams’ season series. The Crimson suffered a 19-7 rout at the hands of the Engineers on Sept. 1, but on Friday, the MIT offense managed only one even-strength goal.

Zepfel led the Crimson on both sides of the ball with four goals and four steals. Lee and Roller each contributed two goals and four assists to the effort. Goalies Field and Woolway combined for seven saves.