Harvard Enjoys Welcome Home Win Over MIT

The Harvard men’s water polo team won their first divisional game, beating MIT yesterday at Blodgett natatorium. The Crimson (2-6, 1-0 CWPA) gave up the first goal but quickly evened the score, pulled ahead, and never looked back as they cruised to a 9-6 victory over the Engineers (1-8, 0-1 CWPA).

The players were motivated by the win, as Harvard had come away from their first two tournaments with a 1-6 record.

“Our first seven or eight games were a pretty tough start,” said junior co-captain Bret Voith, “but it’s good to start our league schedule, and just get a good first [conference] victory.”

Crimson head coach Erik Farrar was satisfied with the way his team performed.

“It was a great team effort—a lot of guys jumped out,” Farrar said. “Everybody played really well. I’m very pleased.”

“It was great to get a win in front of the home crowd, start off divisional play 1-0,” said co-captain Egen Atkinson, citing team defense and a “stellar” performance by senior goalie Nikhil Balaraman as crucial to the win.

A successful transition game was another key aspect of Harvard’s victory. Tallying four goals off of breakaways or odd-man rushes, the team capitalized on several easy scoring opportunities.

Atkinson was responsible for two of these, scoring twice in the first two minutes of the second quarter. 30 seconds into the period, the captain harnessed a long pass from the Crimson end and tossed a soft lob over the head of the MIT goalkeeper and into the net. Just over 30 seconds later, he struck again, taking a feed from Balaraman and burying it in the back of the goal, giving Harvard a 4-1 lead.

The first half was closely contested, with Harvard going into halftime leading only by one goal at 5-4. At halftime, however, the Crimson looked to build on its advantage.

“[We] made an adjustment and [the Engineers] were less effective,” Farrar said. “We traded goals for a little while, but we had a big surge.”

Indeed, the Harvard defense allowed only two goals in the second half.

“We got in a position of control and we didn’t relinquish it,” Farrar said.

Voith also added two scores. After giving the Crimson the lead in the first quarter, he struck again as time expired in the third frame, catching a high crossing pass from the left side and firing the ball into the cage.

Other scoring contributors were junior Alex Thompson, who scored twice, while junior Jeff Lee, sophomore Luka Babic, and sophomore Evan Zepfel each tallied a goal. Babic scored in particularly dramatic fashion, sprinting down the pool pursued closely by three MIT players before shooting past the Engineer goaltender for Harvard’s first goal.

“I think it’s a great step,” Farrar said. “You always want to win your home opener at Harvard.”

Farrar praised the team, emphasizing “good hustle” and calling the game a “solid win.”

The game was not flawless, though.

“It’s still early,” Farrar said. “We’re giving up some situations that we don’t want to be giving up throughout the season...We’re still losing control of the ball.”

But Balaraman minimized the damage.

“Nikhil was there to clean up the mess on a couple of [the mistakes],” Farrar added.

The co-captains agreed on the special satisfaction of beating MIT.

“It’s always fun when MIT brings their fans,” Voith said. “It brings an intensity that you have to step up to in that game.”

Atkinson echoed his teammate’s sentiment.

“All game they had their pots and pans and their heckling,” he said. “I think we did a good job of not letting it get in our heads and sending them home quiet.”

The Crimson head back, optimistic and encouraged by their win, to Princeton this weekend to participate in the ECAC Championships.

“[MIT] was an important divisional win for us,” concluded Farrar. “But there’s a long way to go.”