Men's Water Polo Splits Weekend, Fails to Assure Spot in Northerns

Despite its disappointing performance this season, the Harvard men's water polo team still had a chance to secure a berth in the Northern Championship Tournament entering this weekend's tournament at St. Francis in New York.

Instead, the disappointment continued as Harvard (6-15) left St. Francis with a 2-2 record, recording wins against Lehman and the Merchant Marine and losses against Iona and St. Francis. HARVARD  13 LEHMAN  4 HARVARD  6 IONA  11 HARVARD  15 USMMA  4 HARVARD  9 ST. FRANCIS  15

Needing to win three out of their four games on the weekend, the Crimson fell just short of assuring itself a spot and left the tournament with uncertainty hanging over its shoulder.

Once in control of its own destiny, the Crimson's fate now lies in the hands of other teams. Harvard hopes to qualify for the Northern Championships on a tie-breaker.

Harvard 13, Lehman 4

In the first game of the tournament, the Crimson faced off against Coach Jim Floerschinger's former team, Lehman College.

Facing a relatively weak Lehman team and eager to get off to a good start, Harvard, led by early goals from captain Mike Zimmerman, jumped out to an early lead and quickly dispatched an overmatched Lehman squad.

"We expected to beat them, which is what we did," Zimmerman said.

Iona 11, Harvard 6

With the trivialities over, Harvard faced its first test of the tournament in Iona. Having previously beaten Iona 10-9 a few weeks ago at the Fordham Invitational, Harvard entered the game with optimism and confidence.

That confidence was soon deflated by a barrage of two-pointers from the hard-shooting Iona squad.

"It was really deflating," Zimmerman said. "They made five two-pointers on us, and you can't really come back from that."

One of the two-pointers came off a restart when the Iona point man fired in a skip shot from half court that caught the entire Harvard team by surprise, including sophomore goalie Josh Bliesath.

"I just wasn't ready for it," Bliesath said. "I was making sure we were setting up on defense, and before I knew it, the ball was in the goal."

Desperately needing to win this game, Harvard played solidly throughout, but in the end it simply wasn't enough to overcome five two-pointers.

Harvard 15, USMMA 4

With one loss already, Harvard entered its next game against the United States Merchant Marine Academy in a must-win situation.

Renewing a battle with the Academy, Harvard expected a rough and dirty game similar to the 12-5 victory a few weeks ago.

In that game the outcome was marred by several players who received game ejections for illegal play. Ready for battle and playing with a sense of urgency, Harvard responded with a dominating 15-4 victory.

Led by excellent play from Bliesath and a suffocating defense, the Crimson quickly took care of the physical but unskilled Merchant Marine.

Playing well and beginning to gel in its final tune-up before its most crucial match of the weekend, the Crimson then turned its attention to the St. Francis team that stood between it and Northerns.

St. Francis 15, Harvard 9

With Harvard sporting a 2-1 record entering the final game of the tournament, it was clear what was necessary to qualify. A win and the Crimson was in; a loss and who knew what might happen.

Led by a spectacular performance from Zimmerman, Harvard played well against a strong St. Francis team. In the end, however, St. Francis simply proved too good for the Crimson to rest its post-season hopes on as they prevailed 15-9.

"We fought hard and played solidly, but it just wasn't enough," Zimmerman said.

With its postseason hopes dependent on somebody else, Harvard laments on what could have been.

"We played well most of the time, but at key points when we needed to play as a team, we just fell apart," sophomore standout Jeremy Katz said. "It's disappointing because we all know how to play, we just can't put it together."

This weekend the Crimson takes a break from its East Coast rivals and travels to Claremont, California to get a taste of some West Coast water polo action.

Katz, a Californian himself, had his spirits raised when the trip was mentioned.

"We get to play outdoors," Katz said. "Sunshine, actual people in the stands; it'll be fun."