Ball, Victory Slip Beyond M. Water Polo's Reach

With just 0:14 left to go in the game, Harvard sophomore Christopher Ludwick hurled the ball beyond the outstretched arms of MIT goaltender Robert Turax. Harvard desperately needed each one of those 14 seconds if it was going to overcome the remaining deficit, but instead of playing, the Engineers ended the intense contest by deftly throwing the ball into the corner of the pool. The maneuver ran the clock down, left the final score at 10-9, and drained any hope the Crimson (2-4) had of exacting revenge on MIT (8-3) in the teams’ first meeting since Harvard’s season-opening loss.

Junior John Voith made a triumphant return to Harvard, scoring the first goal of the game off an assist from junior co-captain Michael Garcia just 40 seconds into the contest.

“The guy guarding me was looking to counter,” Voith said. “He had a one-track mindset, and I knew I could beat him by getting the ball quickly and scoring.”

The next three minutes were marked by sloppy play and poor defense for the Crimson, which allowed MIT to score four uncontested goals, many from hole-set John Rodgers. The Engineers’ aggressive defense left Harvard scrambling to hang on to the ball, and the Crimson’s lead was short-lived.

“We just weren’t doing what we were supposed to do on defense,” Garcia said. “We were playing individually instead of helping each other and that’s how they got those four goals.”

After MIT called a time-out halfway through the first period, it seemed as though an entirely new Harvard team hopped into the pool. The Crimson came out strong, and sophomore Brian Kuczynski netted a goal on the very first drive. Harvard’s passes were more crisp and the players drove closer to the goal, making it difficult for Turax to block shots. With just eight seconds left in the first quarter, Garcia scored a goal to bring the Crimson within one.

Both teams played much less frantically after the first, and each scored only one more goal before the half was over. MIT tallied a goal off a penalty shot, while Ludwick scored his first of the game.

To start the second half, Voith drew a penalty. Sophomore Michael Byrd fired the free shot into goal. Twenty seconds later, Garcia stole the ball and drove it back to Engineer territory. With help from junior Alessandro Lazzarini, Garcia drove the ball into the net, tying up the game and swinging the momentum in Harvard’s favor. Freshman David Tune continued the offensive spurt with a goal, putting Harvard on top for the first time since the beginning of the game.

The Crimson’s lead didn’t last, however, as MIT went on to score three goals, taking back a 10-7 lead.

“The team will go up in spurts and we fight our way back,” Voith said. “The same thing happened against Brown a week ago, also against St. Francis. It’s an attitude type thing; we’re not coming out with a nothing to lose attitude.”

MIT brought itself out of Harvard’s reach with two goals from Mike Smith Bronstein in the final period of play.

“When we were down we got fired up and played a lot better,” Garcia said. “When we got back in it we let up a little and relaxed, which we shouldn’t have done.”

—Staff writer Megha Parekh can be reached at parekh@fas.harvard.edu.