Championship Split Leaves Playoff Fate Unknown

The Harvard women’s water polo team (11-14, 4-6 CWPA) was able to overcome a dismal start to the Northern Division Championship on Saturday to end with a third-place finish yesterday.

The Crimson dropped two games on the opening day of the championship—hosted by Connecticut College—to two ranked opponents. Harvard came up big on Sunday, however, as the Crimson scored a combined 38 goals in yesterday’s doubleheader. The team now awaits a decision from the Collegiate Water Polo Association to find out whether it will play in the Eastern Championship, which will be hosted at Blodgett Pool this weekend.

“We went to the championships with the intention of winning the division but we put ourselves in too many tight situations,” Harvard coach Erik Farrar said. “We have to take these lessons...it was a new experience for a lot of people.”

HARVARD 20, UTICA 2

The team exploded against Utica College (2-12, 0-8), scoring evenly throughout the match. The Crimson came out focused and with high intensity throughout, using a different offensive play each quarter to maintain the pace of the game. The variety of attack formations led to several players netting multiple goals.

Freshman Devan Kennifer had a terrific weekend, and continued her good play in the final game of the championship by scoring a game high four goals. Six more of her teammates also contributed to the barrage of scoring, with juniors Kristina Bergquist and Kelly Peeler and freshman Ita Barton-Kettleborough earning hat-tricks. Harvard maintained an upbeat offensive tempo throughout the game and was able to keep Utica at bay with solid defense. Freshman netminder Laurel McCarthy had five saves and only allowed two goals in her second win of the day.

The Crimson ended with a 2-2 record at the tournament, a mark that may keep them alive for the big upcoming championship.

HARVARD 18, CONN COLLEGE 4

The Crimson played an early morning match against the Camels (4-7, 3-6), and proceeded to get the job done without a spectacular performance. Harvard started off the game with low intensity, though it picked up throughout the game. Barton-Kettleborough had a big showing, finding the back of the net four times as the Crimson cruised to an easy victory. The hosts never posed much of a threat, which lulled Harvard into a lackluster pace, but the Crimson managed to post a strong offensive output and attone for Saturday’s defeats.

BROWN 8, HARVARD 7 (OT)

After losing to No. 15 Hartwick, the Crimson showed resilience against another highly-ranked opponent. Harvard faced No. 19 Brown (23-13, 8-2) in a rivalry matchup that took several turns. In the first half, the Crimson ran off to a 6-1 lead thanks to a balanced offensive effort characteristic of the weekend. However, Harvard wound up on the other side of a 6-1 run during the second half, forcing the game into overtime. Both teams were scoreless in the first overtime period, but Brown junior Lauren Presant scored with 1:22 left in the second overtime period to give the Bears a hardfought victory.

“In the first quarter against Brown we came out hard and focused and we played the best two quarters we ever played,” freshman Shannon Purcell said. “We played really well as a team and we’re going into [next weekend] with a very focused mindset and a good team dynamic.”

Purcell and teammate Barton-Kettleborough each had a pair of tallies to keep the Crimson in the game. Peeler and Kennifer also added to the score, each netting one goal. Former Crimson magazine chair and co-captain Nicola Perlman had a valiant effort, attempting to put a halt to the Bears’ offense with nine saves. The efforts fell short, however, and Harvard dropped its second game of the day.

HARTWICK 12, HARVARD 8

The Crimson had a rough start on Saturday, facing the highest ranked team of the competition. Hartwick (28-11, 9-1) came out strong, scoring the first six goals of the match before Harvard came back within striking distance, 8-6. However, Hartwick’s offense was too much for Perlman, who still had impressive numbers after a tough match. She ended the game with 12 saves and three steals and was critical in keeping Harvard in the game.

Kennifer and Barton-Kettleborough each had three goals to lead the Crimson. Kennifer also had two assists, two kickouts, and two steals. Freshman Monica Zdrojewski netted twice to show why she is the current Northern Division Rookie of the Week, though these efforts were in vain after the squad had fallen so far behind.

“We had some really good stretches and some not so good stretches,” said Farrar. “We dug a big hole against Hartwick and we tried to come back but we can’t just keep creating too big a [deficit].”