Junior 2-meter Ben Zepfel, shown above in previous action, notched four goals on Sunday to lead Harvard past Bucknell. The team went 3-0 on the weekend.

The Harvard men’s water polo team started its season off on a high note this weekend, winning all three of its games at the Princeton Invitational and living up to its ranking as the 19th-best team in the country.

“We played pretty well,” Crimson coach Ted Minnis said. “There were still some things we need to work on, but you don’t want to be playing your best right now; you want to be playing at that level in November, when it counts.”

HARVARD 12, BUCKNELL 10

In its second contest on Sunday, Harvard faced a talented Bucknell team that has had the Crimson’s number in recent years. The day marked Harvard’s first win over the Bison in the last nine games of the series.

Going into halftime tied, 6-6, both teams continued to struggle to pull away from each other and ended up trading goals along the way to a 10-10 score at the end of regulation.

In overtime, however, junior goaltender Colin Woolway shined, shutting out the Bucknell offense for the entirety of the extra time and ultimately finishing with nine saves. Meanwhile, junior 2-meter Ben Zepfel and sophomore attacker Joey Colton notched scores, giving Harvard the lead for good. Both players finished with four goals.

“We need to improve in every stage of the game,” Minnis said. “Defensively we had some lapses, we can help a little better, and we can move the ball better. We will continue to grow in our system as the season goes on. The season is a staircase and you want to be playing your best later in the season, not right now.”

HARVARD 13, GEORGE WASHINGTON 9

Following a lightning strike that forced tournament games to be postponed to Sunday, Harvard faced George Washington in the first of two matches for the day.

The Crimson jumped out to a quick start and outscored its opponent, 10-6, in the first half, with three goals coming from sophomore attacker Viktor Wrobel. But the Colonials pushed back following the break, bringing the score to within two before Zepfel iced the game for Harvard with a pair of goals of his own.

“We played very consistently the whole weekend,” said Harvard captain and utility player Max Murphy. “Each game had its challenges, but we were able to overcome them as a team. This weekend was a huge team effort.”

Zepfel would finish the game with four goals, while Wrobel notched three. Freshman utility player Colin Chiapello continued on his strong debut performance, adding another two goals for the Crimson. 

HARVARD 11, DIABLO VALLEY 7

In its first game of the season on Saturday afternoon, the Crimson faced off against Diablo Valley College, a community college in Pleasant Hill, Calif. The game started slowly, with Harvard taking a slim, 2-1 lead into halftime, but the Crimson quickly put the contest out of reach in the second half.

“We had a little bit of a slow start at the beginning,” Murphy said. “But by the time the second half rolled around, we got it together. Our defense was playing well the whole weekend, and that did a lot for us.”

Harvard went on an 8-2 run to take a commanding 10-4 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game, and the team managed to withstand a late comeback attempt by the Vikings to finish off the match.

The Crimson was led by strong play from junior attacker Blake Lee and Chiapello, who each scored a hat trick. Woolway also came up big for Harvard, making six saves and keeping the game close in the early minutes.

“It’s still early, but we got to see what our young kids are able to do as well as our returning players,” Minnis said. “We were able to get into more of a flow and really focus on the things that we’ve been working on in preseason and improve what we do.”

—Staff writer Theo Levine can be reached at tlevine@college.harvard.edu.