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Men's Water Polo Posts 5-0 Record at Santa Clara Bronco Invite

UPDATED: November 2, 2015, at 1:59 a.m.

The Harvard men’s water polo team (14-8, 6-3 CWPA Northern) traveled across the country to California this weekend, where it swept the Santa Clara Bronco Invite tournament for the second consecutive year.

The team won three games against ranked West Coast opponents and finished the tournament with a 5-0 record overall.

But the Crimson’s strong final result didn’t arise until a crucial performance from junior co-captain Joey Colton.

Sitting on a four-game winning streak, the Crimson entered a second overtime period against the University of California, Davis with the score tied at nine apiece.

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Colton quickly put Harvard ahead with his second go-ahead goal of the day, firing a shot into the back of the net just minutes into the period. But then, Colton did his part on the defensive end as well, coming up with the game-saving block in the final seconds to clinch the victory.

“We were stoked to play in California,” said junior defender Dan Stevens on the tournament. “That said, we were playing a lot of teams ranked higher than we were. We were perceived as underdogs by many of the teams there.”

HARVARD 10, UC DAVIS 9 (OT)

The Aggies (14-7, 3-0 WWPA) jumped out to a 5-3 lead at halftime despite a first-half hat trick from co-captain Ben Zepfel.

The game marked the first time during the tournament that the Crimson faced a deficit heading into the second half, but the defense held strong.

Highly touted freshman goalkeeper Anthony Ridgley had several key second-half stops.

But Harvard could not have come back without work on the offensive end as well.

Colton and senior attacker Noah Harrison combined for second-half goals to send the match to overtime.

Harrison’s strike in the final minute was especially important, serving as the equalizer.

Colton ultimately scored the game winner.

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