Water Polo Dominates Home Slate, Starts Season Unbeaten

It’s hard to see where a season is going to go after only four games, but for the Harvard women’s water polo team, this spring looks promising. The Crimson (4-0) began the year undefeated after taking down all four of its opponents at this weekend’s Harvard Invitational at Blodgett Pool.

“The first four games, it’s always interesting to see since you have no idea how it’ll come out,” sophomore goaltender Laurel McCarthy said. “It’s really nice to have these [next] two weeks knowing that we can win together but knowing what we need to work on too.”

Ten different players scored in the two-day event, led by sophomore Devan Kennifer, who tallied 15 goals total. Kennifer’s classmate, McCarthy, made 10 saves the first day to help Harvard fight back from deficits in each of the four games.

The Crimson’s freshman class contributed considerably in its first games as Harvard athletes and looks to take on a stronger role as the team moves further into its season, including a rematch with Iona in two weeks.

“We know what we do well, we know what we need to fix and improve,” Crimson coach Eric Farrar said. “I think [Iona] will be a very different team in two weeks, as will we, so we will see how it goes.”

HARVARD 11, IONA 8

Harvard’s final game of the Invitational was also its hardest, as the Crimson remained stuck at 4-4 going into the half.

“This was a great game because it was a real test of character,” McCarthy said. “It’s the fourth game of the weekend and people are tired and people start to play a little more grabby and get a little more aggressive.”

It wasn’t until the final eight minutes that Harvard turned the heat on, outscoring the Gaels, 5-2, eventually grabbing an 11-8 victory.

“The last one was us not having our best stuff, hitting pipes all over the place, generating a lot of chances but not sticking the ball away,” Farrar said.

Kennifer netted five goals, while the freshman duo of Elise Molnar and Aisha Price tallied two apiece.

“It may not have been as pretty as we wanted it to be but we got it done,” McCarthy said.

HARVARD 10, NYAC 8

Playing earlier in the day against the New York Athletic Club, the Crimson again found itself tied at four going into halftime. This time, though, the tie was a relief for Harvard after being down 4-1 in the first two quarters.

“Our competition was a bit stronger today,” Farrar said. “[They’re] older, experienced, a masters team including one Harvard grad, so that was nice to win that.”

Price and Kennifer both recorded a hat trick while four other players scored as Harvard held on to the win.

HARVARD 15, SIENA 9

The night before, the Crimson was again down against its opponent.

“A little bit of a character test early in the year, [we] got down 4-2 and weren’t playing very good defense here,” Farrar said. “We had to make a couple of adjustments, but the kids did a great job, adjusted, took their punch and then outscored them 12-3 over the next two quarters.”

Freshman Molnar scored five goals in her second collegiate game, while Kennifer netted four and Price scored two.

“Our freshmen played phenomenal,” McCarthy said.

HARVARD 16, VILLANOVA 2

Villanova’s goaltender had no idea where to look in the first matchup of the Harvard Invitational, as 10 different Crimson players scored in a Harvard blowout.

“It was a pretty hard preseason, and I think we were all just excited to play someone beside ourselves,” Molnar said. “We just really came out with a lot of energy.”

Molnar scored one as Kennifer tallied her first hat trick of the year. Co-captain Kristina Bergquist, junior Patricia Smith, sophomore Monica Zdrojewski, and Price each netted two as well.

“We were very effective compressing and getting a fast break in the game,” Farrar said. “Villanova had trouble swimming us.”

—Staff writer Alex Sopko can be reached at sopko@fas.harvard.edu.