After two weeks of inaction, the Harvard women’s water polo team returned to the pool to take on competition at the CWPA/MAAC Crossover at Villanova.

The Crimson (7-4) began its weekend on a sour note with two losses on Saturday. The first, a 10-8 defeat, came at the hands of Wagner, and the second came when Harvard fell to Iona a few hours later in a 17-14 affair.

But the team seized on the opportunity to bounce back the next day and captured two wins to end the weekend with an even slate. The Crimson offense twice tied its season-best 20 goals scored, first defeating Villanova, 20-10, and going on to beat Siena by a score of 20-6.

“It was a good weekend to get ready for conference play, which starts next weekend,” Harvard coach Ted Minnis said. “It was good to get back in the water and play competition. I thought we did some good things, and I think there are some things we can definitely go back and improve on.”

HARVARD 20, VILLANOVA 10

Although the Crimson defeated Villanova (0-14) decisively by 15 goals two weeks ago, Harvard did not look past its opponents the second time around as the dominant Crimson offense propelled the squad past the Wildcats.

Sophomore goalie Ariel Dukes anchored Harvard in net to match her career-high 13 saves. Co-captain Aisha Price also contributed six assists in the high-scoring affair to set a new career mark.

“I can’t take any credit for anything that I’ve done,” Price said. “I have the opportunity to play with amazing girls. It’s so fun to play with them every weekend.”

Freshman Charlotte Hendrix, who is the team’s high scorer, led the Crimson offense with six goals. Seven other Harvard players found the back of the net, including sophomore Kalina Grabb and freshman Yoshi Andersen, who both contributed three-goal performances.

The Crimson produced consistently on the offensive end all game, scoring five goals in each of the four periods of play.

Progress was also made on the defensive front, as seven Harvard players totaled at least 2 steals to combine for a team season-high of 20.

After the win over Villanova, the Crimson took on Siena (0-4) in its final game of the weekend. Harvard came out on top by a score of 20-6, once again equaling its season-high in scoring and achieving its second largest margin of victory on the year.

IONA 17, HARVARD 14

Although the Crimson held a one-goal lead after the first period, Iona (5-3) struck back in the second to outscore Harvard by two. In the second half, the two teams played back-and-forth water polo, but the Gaels managed to outpace the Crimson by two goals to capture a 17-14 win.

Harvard hung with Iona the entire game, as three of the four quarters were decided by one goal.

“Down the stretch, we didn’t convert in both games,” Minnis said. “They were tied games late in the fourth quarter, and we just couldn’t put the ball away. Both Wagner and Iona are very good teams…. Both teams have great 2-meter play, and they worked really hard on the perimeter, so it was a good test for us.”

The Crimson defense struggled throughout the contest, as the 17 goals allowed were the most the team has surrendered so far this season.

Junior Shayna Price contributed a team-high four goals and notched two assists. Aisha Price, right on her sister’s tail with three goals, also matched her own career-high six steals.

WAGNER 10, HARVARD 8

Harvard opened up the weekend against Wagner. Despite hanging with the Seahawks (7-4) for most of the game, the Crimson ultimately fell in a close one by a score of 10-8.

The two teams battled in an even second half, with each squad netting three goals. But Wagner outscored Harvard by one in each of the first two quarters, and the Crimson could not muster the necessary effort to overcome the two-goal deficit.

“We need to be a little more consistent,” Minnis said. “Once you score a goal, we need to work a little harder not to let other teams score goals.”

Harvard had trouble containing Seahawks freshman Jess Lundgren, who contributed a game-high four goals along with two assists.

Aisha Price led the way for the Crimson with three goals, two assists, and five steals, just one short of the career-high she matched in the ensuing game. Andersen also contributed a hat trick.

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at dsteinbach@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @BigBach12.