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Defense wins championships. It’s pretty undisputed.

Harvard women’s water polo coach Ted Minnis is justified, then, in placing a heavy emphasis on defensive tactics, schemes, and awareness during practice. This mantra has translated into an 8-1 start, the best record that a Crimson women’s water polo team has garnered through nine games in over 20 years. His players know that a defensive shutout is every bit as valuable—if not more so—than an offensive onslaught.

Ultimately, however, the success of a defense comes down to whether or not the ball passes between the goalposts and under the crossbar.

Sophomore goalkeeper Cleo Harrington, The Crimson’s Athlete of the Week, has played an instrumental role all season long in helping Harvard to its fast start, turning away shot after shot and anchoring a defense that has limited its opponents to single-digit scoring in all but two contests.

On the season, Harrington has recorded 69 saves in six starts, posted a record of 5-1, and assisted four times over that stretch.

“I think we’ve found a system that really works,” Harrington said. “We’re learning to trust each other, and our communication has gotten a lot better. Putting all those things together has been a big part of [our defensive success].”

At the recent Princeton Invitational at DeNunzio Pool, Harrington recorded 12 stops in goal against No. 23 California Baptist on Saturday morning, then 10 more against No. 22 Wagner later that day. She was awarded with victories in both matches after Harvard scored clutch goals on the offensive end.

“[Coach Minnis] always stresses that defense wins games, and that’s really how we’re going to feed our offense,” Harrington said. “We’re just starting to realize how successful we can be.”

The low-scoring nature of the Crimson’s matches magnifies the spotlight placed on the goalies—and in these moments, Harrington has risen to the challenge.

Cal Baptist senior goalie Meghan Rowland was unable to match Harrington’s 12-for-16 (.750) save record in the tournament opener, tallying just six saves on 14 shot attempts (.429). Wagner junior goalie Emily Riddle fared similarly in the nightcap, stopping six attempts on 13 attempts (.462), compared to Harrington’s 10 saves on 16 shot attempts (.625). With game totals of 14 and 15 saves earlier in the season, Harrington has consistently performed a cut above the rest.

Her performance has enabled her teammates to trust her abilities to block shots, in turn allowing for a more pestering and efficient defensive setup, according to senior attacker Charlotte Hendrix. With Minnis constantly telling his players to press, this sort of trust is a necessity in the pool.

Harrington also attributes a portion of this year’s success to the experience she gained during her freshman season.

“Definitely getting a good amount of playing time last year taught me a lot,” Harrington said. “It definitely helped get all the jitters out freshman year and [helped me] learn our system of play, so that when I came in this year, the nerves weren’t there as much, and I was just excited to play.”

With the 2016 season about a third of the way done, Harrington is on track to obliterate the number of saves she made last year, her rookie year, when she posted 162 saves on the season while splitting time with now-graduated senior goalkeeper Ariel Dukes ’15. Harrington’s career high for single-game saves is 17, a mark she also set in 2015.

Now, as the starting goalkeeper, Harrington is expected to get the majority of starts over freshman backup goalie Sam Acker, who, in her own right, has gone undefeated in three starts and recorded 28 saves. The tandem projects to be a force in net for Harvard as they look to build on the team’s fast start.

“They are amazing,” Hendrix said. “It comes from both of them having the greatest work ethic. They block some incredible shots. We know that if Sam’s in goal, if Cleo’s in the goal, they have our back, and we can trust them. I love playing with them.”

—Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bryan.hu@thecrimson.com.