AOTW: Keyser Paces Squad with Record Scoring Spree

Battling a tough Maryland team on Sunday, the Harvard women’s water polo team found itself behind for the first time all season. The Terrapins grabbed a 6-5 lead early in the fourth quarter and hoped to send the Crimson to its first defeat of the year.

Arin Keyser would not let that happen.

The co-captain and driver scored three straight goals in the fourth quarter, and Harvard was able to rally ahead and hold on to win, 8-7.

The victory over Maryland was the highlight of a very successful weekend for the team, which defeated Villanova, 11-8, and George Washington, 8-2, on Saturday before losing on its final game of the weekend on Sunday to No. 17 Indiana, 13-5. All games were part of the Princeton Invitational in Princeton, N.J.

The main reason for the Crimson’s success was the play of Keyser. She scored multiple goals in every game last weekend and had 13 of the team’s 32 total goals.

Many of her goals came within the two-meter area in front of the net, where she and her teammates are most effective.

“In any game, you try to take shots that are of the highest percentage,” Keyser said, explaining how she was able to score so many goals. “I just wound up being in the position to take the high-percentage shots.”

“There was a lot of luck involved,” she added.

Keyser scored twice against George Washington and three times against Villanova before dominating the action against the Terrapins. Of the team’s eight goals against Maryland, the driver scored six of them.

“Arin carried the team,” senior goaltender Lydia Gardner said. “She really stepped up when we needed her to. It was so motivating for her to go out and take care of business.”

The six goals were single-game highs both for Keyser and for Harvard this season.

Although the Crimson could not complete a clean sweep of the weekend against Indiana, Keyser did her part, as she scored two goals to lead the team in scoring again and finish the weekend with 16 goals.

Notching multiple goals in a game is nothing new for the 5’5 Poway, California native. She scored three goals in a win against Whitter last season and had two goals several other times, including against Princeton, LaVerne, and Brown.

As a co-captain along with fellow driver Sarah Kennifer, Keyser had been working hard to bring the team together and prepare it for intercollegiate play. Over intersession, the team traveled to Puerto Rico to battle more colleges. The games were played under different rules and were much more physical, but the players assert that they were an effective way to train for the start of the regular season.

“We start later than most schools because of the Ivy League regulations,” Keyser said. “This was our first chance to work together.”

The hard work for Keyser and her teammates paid off with a successful tournament in Princeton.

“Everyone on the team is happy with how we did,” Keyser said. “It is a great start to our season.”

Next week, Harvard travels back to Princeton, where it will face most of the other Ancient Eight teams in the Ivy Invitational.

Last year, Keyser and her teammates won the Ivy Invitational by beating Brown in the final. This year, they are hoping for a repeat.

If Arin Keyser can come up with more six goal games, the Crimson has an excellent shot.

—Staff writer Ted Kirby can be reached at tjkirby@fas.harvard.edu.