Crimson Winless Over Weekend

After weeks of preparation and grueling two-a-days, Harvard men’s water polo hit the pool looking to make a splash. Instead, the squad sputtered in its first action of the season at the MIT Invitational this past weekend.

Ten different players found the back of the net for the Crimson (0-3), but Harvard dropped all of its contests, falling to No. 13 Pacific, 17-4, Claremont 10-9, and Redlands, 15-7, at the Al and Barrie Zesiger Sports and Fitness center.

“[This weekend] there have been a lot of good steps,” Harvard coach Eric Farrar said. “We showed that we’ve got the talent, but it’s a question of putting it all together, and we weren’t entirely successful in doing that.”

While the Crimson showed flashes of potential, particularly in goal, co-captain Egen Atkinson suggested that Harvard will be able to put more pieces together as the squad adjusts to new offensive schemes.

“Lack of practice with our offensive system is one of the main things [that we need to improve],” he commented. “On defense we know what we need to run, but offensively we still need to develop a few things.”

REDLANDS 15, HARVARD 7

Looking to bounce back from two difficult losses on Saturday, the Crimson took on the Bulldogs (2-2) Sunday afternoon hoping for its first win of the season.

Harvard earned a 2-1 advantage early, but the Redlands squad settled into a rhythm, riding a 15-4 edge in ejections to a 9-3 halftime lead.

Seven different players tallied goals for the Crimson—including co-captains Atkinson, junior Bret Voith, and freshman utility man Max Eliot—but Harvard could not close the gap.

Senior goalkeeper Nikhil Balaraman notched seven saves and five steals in net to finish a promising weekend and provide a rare bright spot for the struggling Crimson.

“Nikhil was phenomenal,” Atkinson said. “I was encouraged to see how strong he is in goal. [Balaraman] is great fundamentally, but just as importantly, he is a strong leader on defense.”

Senior Dan Furman also made a positive return to the pool, netting his first goal of the season against the Bulldogs.

CLAREMONT 10, HARVARD 9

The Crimson concluded Saturday’s action with a disappointing loss as the squad watched a two-goal lead evaporate in the second half.

The offense clicked early for Harvard en route to a 6-4 lead, but a series of third quarter miscues opened the door for a 6-0 run by the Stags.

“That [Claremont game] was the toughest loss to swallow, because it was within our reach,” Atkinson said. “We were feeling good, but in the third quarter we lost focus…Hopefully one of the things we will learn is how to finish a game like that.”

Voith tallied a hat trick for the Crimson, while Atkinson notched a pair of scores, nearly rallying Harvard to a late comeback. Unfortunately for the Crimson, time expired before the squad could line up a good final look.

A strong returning core of sophomores also got into Saturday’s action, with Luka Babic, Mike Katzer and Evan Zepfel all adding scores for Harvard.

NO. 13 PACIFIC 17, HARVARD 4

The 13th-ranked Tigers proved too much for the Crimson in the Cambridge squad’s first contest of the year. Juniors Jeff Lee and Alex Thompson along with sophomore Luka Babic each scored their first goals of the weekend in the opening matchup, but Harvard consistently found itself in a hole against a talented Pacific team.

“Pacific is a great team,” Atkinson explained, “And it was good to go out and get better against a team like that.”

Sophomore goalie Alex Popp shined against the Tigers, posting eight saves and providing coach Farrar with the luxury of two solid options between the posts.

“[Popp and Balaraman] have done a fantastic job so far,” Farrar said. “Both have been very solid and I imagine they will each see significant playing time.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrodnf@fas.harvard.edu.