Harvard Edges Out Bucknell, Snaps Skid

As Cambridge felt the first rays of spring this past weekend, the Harvard women’s water polo team received a colder welcome in Indianapolis at the Elite Eight Tournament, where the Crimson (8-5) dropped its first two matches against Maryland (8-5) and No. 20 Princeton (7-3) on Saturday. Things warmed up as Harvard rebounded yesterday, defeating Bucknell (5-5) in overtime after having lost to the Bison last weekend.

“This weekend, our first two games were very close, but we just couldn’t pull out the win,” freshman Aisha Price said. “This third game, we really put our heads into coming out with the win and went into the game just ready to give it our all. We are just really really happy that we are able to come out finally with a good win.”

This win was especially important for the Crimson which, without it, would have faced a 7-6 overall record going into the spring break stretch. Over the next two weeks, Harvard will see game time against six different California schools.

HARVARD 13, BUCKNELL 12

After a three-game losing skid, Sunday’s win was a relief for the Crimson squad.

“We just wanted to play our game, and we knew we would have to just get it done,” Price said.

In the first eight-minute period, both squads went on an offensive rampage, scoring nine goals total with the Bison having a 5-4 lead. The next quarter showed Bucknell taking charge, outscoring the Crimson, 3-1, to lead, 8-5, at halftime.

Down for the third time in as many games, Harvard scored four goals during the third period while holding the Bison to one sole tally and tying the game at nine. Both teams found the back of the net twice in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime.

Sophomore Devan Kennifer, who had a season-high six tallies, gave the Crimson a 13-11 cushion as the final minutes ticked down, and even with a Bucknell goal, the squad managed to hold on for a tight 13-12 win. Sophomore goalkeeper Laurel McCarthy made seven saves to seal Harvard’s come-from-behind victory.

“In that game, we were pretty tired from the day, before but we really didn’t want to lose,” Kennifer said. “We didn’t feel that we had played very well the week before, and we would have liked to beat them [then], so I think we just had an extra gear that we reached for to pull it into overtime and [played] those extra six minutes as hard as we could.”

PRINCETON 12, HARVARD 6

The evening before, Harvard faced a tough opponent in Ivy rival and No. 20 Princeton, one of the only ranked teams at the invitational.

The game began with the Crimson and the Tigers trading tallies. Tied at two after the first period, Harvard scored one goal less than Princeton in the next two quarters. The Crimson’s fall came in the final eight minutes, as the Tigers recorded six tallies while Harvard could not complete a shot.

“We put up some good fights, and based on our trends, we have very good heart in coming back from deficits,” Kennifer said. “We are not afraid to keep fighting even if we are down, but I also think we have things we know we have to work on to come out on top in this game.”

Sophomore Ita Barton-Kettleborough completed her second hat trick of the day, but even with McCarthy stopping seven of Princeton’s attempts, the scoreless final period prevented the Crimson from grabbing another win.

MARYLAND 13, HARVARD 10

The first matchup of the weekend proved a battle to the finish as the Harvard squad managed to come from behind and create a 7-7 tie going into the final quarter.

“In the Maryland game, we were down, 6-3, and we came back to tie it, and we could have just rolled over at that point,” Kennifer said. “They were seeded above us, and we could have just been happy with that, but we weren’t. We came back and really made a run for it.”

Three Crimson athletes—Kennifer, Barton-Kettleborough, and Price—all produced hat tricks as Harvard’s offense came out hard, but the Terrapins outscored the Crimson, 6-3, in the final period to take the victory.

“Definitely give Maryland the respect,” Price said. “It was a close game. We just couldn’t pull out with the win this time.”

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