Weekend Split in Season Openers

The Harvard women’s water polo team began its 2008 campaign in earnest this past weekend at the Princeton Invitational. Having demolished Yale 19-2 in a scrimmage earlier this season, the Crimson women stepped into New Jersey facing far stiffer competition than their New Haven counterparts.

The weekend started promisingly, as Harvard pulled out two victories, taking an 8-6 nailbiter over George Washington before weathering a furious comeback by Wagner to win 14-13. On Sunday, the Crimson finally met their match, falling 11-8 and 14-10 to Maryland and Princeton, respectively.

PRINCETON 14, HARVARD 10

After featuring a variety of scorers in their earlier game against Maryland, Harvard looked to once again display its depth against the nationally ranked Tigers. Tied at three after a quarter of play, Princeton rolled out a 5-1 run to take the four-goal lead at the half.

Despite a tremendous effort by co-captain Lauren Snyder (who led all scorers with five goals) and a stellar performance by junior netminder Nicola Perlman, the Tigers’ first half lead proved to be insurmountable. Both teams scored six in the second half, and Princeton’s early run was the difference in the final tally.

Snyder, who led the team in scoring for the weekend, was able to find openings against a Princeton defense that was heavily preoccupied with the Crimson’s enviable collection of lethal finishers.

“They were dropping off on me and focusing on [junior Devon] MacLaughlin, as they wanted to keep her from scoring,” Snyder said. “Because of that, I had a lot of open shots and I took them.”

“Every single person can score, everyone is a threat,” she added. “Whenever a defense drops off to stop one person scoring, someone else steps up.”

MARYLAND 11, HARVARD 8

Fresh off the heels of a successful Saturday that saw the team compile two close victories, Harvard tasted defeat at the hands of the Terrapins after valiantly mounting a comeback attempt.

Down by three during the first half, MacLaughlin capped a quick Crimson run to tie the game at four in the waning minutes of the second quarter. Playing a game of cat-and-mouse, Maryland pulled away again by three in the third, only to see the Crimson pull back within one. The Terrapins pulled away yet again—this time for good—en route to the team’s three-goal victory.

“We were really excited from how we performed on Saturday,” Snyder said. “[Despite the loss], we really showed that we’re tough and can hang with those top tier teams.”

The Crimson did show some promise, converting all its power-play attempts and getting solid contributions from the younger players on the squad, including freshman Patricia Smith (one goal, three steals).

HARVARD 14, WAGNER 13

Harvard was cruising to a seemingly easy victory over Wagner in its second game on Saturday. Jumping out to an 8-1 lead, the Crimson was firing on all cylinders before switching to autopilot. The momentary lapse in intensity allowed the Seahawks to climb back into the game, ultimately tying the contest at eight and again at 13.

“We really pride ourselves on being a defensive team,” Snyder said. “We practice a lot of defensive sets to show our opponents a lot of different looks.”

Those practices paid dividends at the end of the game, as Smith sealed the contest in the final seconds with a clutch steal. The takeaway allowed Harvard to escape with the one-goal victory over the Seahawks.

Leading the way on the offensive end once again was Snyder, but fellow classmate Melissa Mueller and MacLaughlin, each scoring three goals of their own, helped add to the Crimson cause. Mueller tallied both game-winning goals for Harvard.

HARVARD 8, GEORGE WASHINGTON 6

Perlman, who is also a Crimson Magazine chair, was solid in the net for Harvard throughout the weekend and had arguably her best performance in the opener.

The team, precariously clinging to a two-goal advantage, received a swell of momentum after Perlman stuffed a penalty shot from five meters out with three minutes remaining to seal the Colonials’ fate and ensure the close victory.

“She played a phenomenal weekend, even though she was sick,” senior co-captain Vivian Liao said. “Overall, I thought we came out really strong and improved in each game. We’re on the right track for the season.”

Next up on the slate for the Crimson is the ECAC Championships on Mar. 1. The team will look to utilize its depth and build on its play over the past weekend to improve on last season’s eighth-place finish at Eastern Championships.

—Staff writer Mauricio A. Cruz can be reached at cruz2@fas.harvard.edu.