After a strong showing on the West Coast last weekend in which the Harvard men’s water polo team (13-5, 3-3 CWPA) went undefeated in five games, the Crimson hoped to carry that momentum into this weekend’s two matches against No. 13 Brown (12-4, 6-1) and Connecticut College (2-7, 0-1). Despite coming away with a win in its second game against the Camels after suffering a defeat at the hands of Brown, Harvard struggled on the defensive end and came away unsatisfied with its results. 

“We had a tough day defensively,” Crimson coach Ted Minnis said. “We gave up 34 goals in two games, and that’s way too many goals.”

HARVARD 22, CONNECTICUT COLLEGE 14

The Crimson managed to continue its domination of Connecticut College this weekend with a high scoring victory on Saturday evening. This was the second time the two teams have faced each other this year, as they met during preseason action in the Bruno Fall Classic in September. In its first contest, the Crimson defeated the Camels by a score of 17-11.

Saturday’s win pushed the Crimson’s win streak against Connecticut College to 22 games, although this one wasn’t the prettiest of wins. The 14 goals scored by the Camels represented the most they have scored all season against any opponent.

In order to overcome the struggling defense, the offense successfully took control of the game and tallied a season-high 22 goals. Harvard scored early, and scored often. Despite a few rallies by the Camels, Harvard maintained a steady lead through most of the game. A fourth quarter shutout allowed the team to hold on to its eight-goal margin.

Junior Blake Lee led the offensive charge for the Crimson, finding the back of the net six times and dishing it off to his teammates for an additional three assists.

"I was happy we won the second game against Connecticut College, but I still didn't think we were playing up to our potential," junior goalie Colin Woolway said. "That said, I was happy we rebounded mentally and were able to get the win."

The Crimson will get another chance to face the Camels in just two weeks, this time in Cambridge on Oct 25.

BROWN 19, HARVARD 11

The Crimson failed to continue its five-game win streak against a tough Ivy League opponent in Brown. The Bears, on the other hand, were able to extend their win streak to eight games.

The last time the two teams faced each other, Brown defeated the Crimson by a score of 13-8. Although Harvard kept the game close early on, ejections and fouls plagued the team as the Crimson was consistently down a player in the pool, leading to its eventual defeat.

Though the offense scored in double digits for the fifth time in six games, it wasn’t enough to escape Brown’s strong attack. High scoring contests have been the Bears’ strength all season, led by senior Nick Deaver who had five goals in this weekend’s showdown.

Harvard kept the game close early on and ended the first half with the score tied at six. Brown began to pull away, however, in the third quarter as the Bears outscored the Crimson 5-2. The Bears put the game firmly out of reach by scoring eight goals in the fourth quarter, compared to the Crimson’s two.

“They executed in the second half,” Minnis said.” Just like last time we went from a close game in the first half to them taking it away in the second half. They did a good job of putting the ball in the back of the goal and we just didn’t respond.”           

Sophomore Viktor Wrobel led the Harvard offense with four goals in the match as he scored one in each frame. Junior Ben Zepfel also contributed three tallies for the Crimson.

—Staff writer Theresa C. Hebert can be reached at thebert@college.harvard.edu.