Harvard Defeats Brown in Rivalry

After eluding the Harvard women’s water polo team for three years, victory against Brown finally found its way back into the Crimson’s record books. Amidst high anticipation and excitement from both the crowd and the teams, Harvard (12-10, 1-1 CWPA North) defeated the Bears (18-12, 0-2), 7-6 in double overtime at Blodgett Pool last night.

“I think that it was one of our best games,” freshman center Elise Molnar said. “Everybody was really on and excited to play, and it just came out technically that everything was really perfect.”

From the beginning, both teams entered the pool ready to battle. The decades-long rivalry undoubtedly in the back of their minds, the players’ determination was quite apparent as the shrill whistle from the referees frequently sounded for fouls on each side.

It was a penalty by sophomore attack Shannon Purcell that put the first point on the board, as Brown captain Sarah Glick buried a marker on a foul shot to give the Bears a quick 1-0 edge.

Brown held onto its lead to end the first period up 2-1, but its momentum entering the next eight minutes did little to slow the Crimson, whose defense stepped up after a less-than-perfect performance this past weekend.

“We had some great team defense, and we were able to really neutralize...their strong offensive players,” Harvard coach Erik Farrar explained.

In the second period, the Crimson hit its stride. Despite the strong skill of the Bears’ goalkeeper Stephanie Laing, Harvard scored twice to gain the lead. Crimson sophomore netminder Laurel McCarthy stifled Brown’s offense to allow Harvard a 3-2 lead at halftime.

“We got a great game out of our goalie,” Farrar said. “McCarthy played her best game of the year.”

With such a low score entering the second half of the match, anxieties in Blodgett were running high. The rivalry, which dates back to the 1970s, was in full force as the teams swapped close shots on net.

But the third period saw the Bears pick up momentum and pull ahead as the strong Crimson defense encountered an obstacle—Purcell, its only left-handed starter, fouled out. At the quarter’s end, Brown led, 4-3.

But despite being down, the home team wasn’t fazed.

“That’s what we train for,” Farrar explained.

Molnar expressed the same positive outlook entering the final period down by one.

“I think that once we realized we had lapsed a little, we wanted to come back that much harder,” she said. “It wasn’t a time to think, ‘Oh shoot—they’re coming back.’ It was time to think, ‘Okay, we have to kick it up a notch too.’”

Goals by Molnar and sophomore two-meter defenseman Ita Barton-Kettleborough turned up the heat early in the final quarter—both goals came in less than 30 seconds of play.

“We just kept shooting and hammering away,” Farrar said. “We stuck to our game plan, and that was effective.”

The Bears countered soon after, though, with a strong game plan of their own—the team sank two goals in less than a minute. The fourth period ended with the scored knotted at six, and the game extended into overtime.

In the first eight minutes of extra time, both Harvard and Brown played with few mistakes. As the minutes ticked away and the scoreboard remained the same, the fans became increasingly nervous.

But as Farrar noted, the home-pool advantage definitely made its mark after the Crimson spent over two months on the road.

“The roar of the crowd does huge things,” Farrar said.

Yet to give the fans all of the credit for Harvard’s success in the pool would discredit the teamwork that ultimately gave Harvard the edge in the end.

In the second overtime, with 1:05 left on the clock, sophomore attack Monica Zdrojewski put one between the pipes to lift the Crimson to a 7-6 lead and, ultimately, a long-awaited victory.

“Last week when we prepped, we were so excited for this game,” Molnar noted. “We were so ready to play. The frustration of not being able to play them last week [because a referee did not show up] just channeled through to something really positive.”

The team will now look to channel this victory into additional wins this weekend when it takes on conference opponent Hartwick, followed by a rematch with the Bears.