For the first time this season, the Harvard men’s water polo team (7-4, 3-2 CWPA) was able to play in the familiar water of Blodgett Pool.  The weekend was a mixed result with the Crimson splitting the four games that it played.  

HARVARD 10, FORDHAM 8

Harvard continued the success it found on Saturday evening with a 10-8 win over Fordham (8-5) on Sunday morning.  

An equal balance of strong defense and offense on the part of both teams left the score deadlocked at two after the first quarter. Sophomore attackers Viktor Wrobel and Joey Colton contributed goals for the Crimson.

In what became a trend in this game, both teams traded goals within the first 30 seconds of the second quarter to keep the score tied.  However, junior goalie Colin Woolway made crucial saves in the second quarter to give Harvard some breathing room with a 7-4 lead going into the third quarter.  

The lead was trimmed to two goals entering the fourth quarter, with the Crimson leading the Rams 8-6.  An even two goals each in the fourth quarter eventually led to a 10-8 victory for Harvard.  Offensively, junior 2-meter Ben Zepfel led the way with three goals.

HARVARD 10, IONA 4

After a loss earlier in the day, the Crimson looked to get back on a positive note, and they succeeded as Harvard was victorious against Iona (2-6).  After a relatively slow first period, the Crimson took a 6-1 lead into halftime, thanks to goals from Colton and sophomore defender Dan Stevens among others.  

Harvard’s defense also played a large role in only allowing the Gaels one goal in the first 16 minutes of play.

Colton added on two more goals in the third quarter to give the Crimson a sizeable 5 goal lead at 8-3.  Iona was only able to add one more goal in the final quarter, leading to a 10-4 victory for Harvard and its first victory in CWPA Northern Division play.   

HARVARD 8, ST. FRANCIS 12

The Crimson got off to a tough start Saturday afternoon when the team fell 12-8 to St. Francis (3-6).  In a heated and physical game, the Terriers gained momentum early with a 4-1 start.  At multiple points during the contest, the referees had to step in and keep the match under control.  

After Harvard brought the score to 4-2, a breakaway and scoring opportunity for St. Francis in the closing seconds of the first quarter fell short, but a difficult save kept it at 4-2. At many points in the ensuing second and third quarters, the Terriers extended the lead to at most four goals and was close to running away with the game.  

However, the Crimson was able to keep the game close by pulling within a goal on several occasions. Harvard managed to tie the game at 7 with 5:43 left to play in the fourth quarter.  But 17 seconds later, St. Francis responded and regained the lead which it never let go of until the final buzzer rang.  

“We were well prepared,” Stevens said.  “However, there were lacking fundamentals in our defensive positions that cost us the game against St. Francis.  But we will adapt and improve.”

HARVARD 8, BROWN 13

The fourth and final match that rounded out the weekend of play for Harvard was against No. 14 and Ivy League foe, Brown (11-3).  A very well contested first quarter ended with a 2-1 lead for the Bears.  However, offense was much more easily seen in the second quarter where seven goals were scored, ending in a 6-4 lead for Brown.  The heated game led to multiple ejections in the third quarter for the Crimson, allowing the Bears to pull away.  In the end, the Bears won 13-8.

“We’re doing well but we’re still figuring things out,” Woolway said, “We have the talent and capability to do really well but we need to put it all together.  This weekend will give us a reason to work harder.”