Crimson Suffers Pair of Tough Weekend Losses

The Harvard men’s water polo team dropped back-to-back games at home this weekend. On Saturday, in the conference final against Fordham, the Crimson (5-16, 3-3 CWPA) lost 12-7. Less than 24 hours later, Harvard was in the pool again to face St. Francis College (10-3) in the last game before the CWPA Northern Division Championships on Nov. 7. The Crimson hung tight with a dominant Terriers team throughout the first half, but was ultimately blown away, 18-10.

ST FRANCIS 18, HARVARD 10

In the Crimson’s 18-10 loss to St. Francis yesterday, Harvard tied its record for most goals allowed in a game and once again struggled against a tough non-conference foe.

The Crimson played strongly for the first half, taking a few leads and playing strong defense against a very talented Terrier squad.

“We took a lot of pride in the way we played the first half,” co-captain Egan Atkinson said. “It just shows us that we can play great water polo when we piece together our game.”

Harvard junior co-captain Brett Voith struck first for the Crimson, which exchanged goals with St, Francis and took a 2-1 lead early in the first quarter. St. Francis—after over four minutes of failed attempts—scored on a low, skipping shot in the last second to tie it up.

Voith found the net again early in the second quarter, and the battle resumed. But at 4-4 with just over four minutes remaining, a penalty on Harvard resulted in a lapse in defense. A Terrier player sprinted undefended down the length of the pool, effortlessly lobbed it over the head of sophomore goaltender Alexandre Popp, and secured St. Francis’ first lead of the game.

“We made a couple of mistakes,” said fifth-year head coach Erik Farrar. “A team like St. Francis is going to make you pay with goals for that.”

The Terriers took their lead and never looked back. While Popp made some skillful saves, St. Francis tallied two more goals before halftime and walked into the locker room with a lead of 7-4.

In the third quarter, the Crimson’s fatigue showed. The team got into foul trouble early, and by the end of the game was playing with three players fouled out and another two sidelined with injuries.

“The big thing was [that] we got into foul trouble and didn’t have any subs,” Atkinson said. “Having five guys who normally contribute a lot not playing in the same half...hopefully all that is different in three weeks.”

St. Francis built its lead throughout the third and fourth quarters, acquiring little-needed insurance. But Harvard didn’t relent on offense, with junior Alex Thompson scoring two pretty goals in the last four minutes to complete his hat trick.

“I was really, really pleased with our effort,” Farrar said. “These guys played a passionate, ass-kicking, fiery kind of water polo, and we [just] have to tighten it up. A lot of great things happened in this game.”

FORDHAM 12, HARVARD 7

On Saturday, the Crimson fell to Fordham, 12-7, in its last conference matchup, evening its record to 3-3.

The team came out strong and was in good position at halftime. But things fell apart in the second half, in which Harvard was outscored 5-1.

“There was one good half and one not so good half, pure and simple,” Farrar said. “Getting outscored, 5-1, in the second half just can’t happen again.”

“We have the talent,” Voith added. “We have the system. We have the offense, the defense. But we need four quarters.”

The coaches and players also praised the Crimson’s four seniors, who played in their last regular-season games this weekend. Atkinson, Thomas Bailey, Nikhil Balaraman, and Dan Furman will swim again for Harvard in Blodgett Pool at Northerns, with one last postseason run to secure their legacies.

“They’ve been a big part of our success over the years,” Farrar said. “They’ve done a great job of holding the team on focus and on task.”

“They provide the leadership,” Voith added. “That’s why it’s important to have a day [for seniors] like this...to get them fired up for their last couple games.”

Harvard now turns its attention to Northerns, the first of the two end-of-season tournaments, where the Crimson will most likely face off against cross-town rival M.I.T. The tournament is three weeks away, and the team feels that it has the opporunity to improve in that time.

“We’ve got a lot of training to do, sharpening up,” Farrar said. “It will be a very enjoyable contest.”