Water Polo Drops Pair of Division Matches

After ending its string of losses against Brown on Wednesday with a 7-6 win, the Harvard women’s water polo team seemed ready to tackle a weekend of tough competition.

But the Crimson (12-12, 1-3 CWPA North) fell to both No. 11 Hartwick (24-4, 4-0) and Brown (19-13, 1-3) to end the regular season and jeopardize its shot at postseason play.

“It was tough,” freshman attack Aisha Price said. “But we know we can do better.”

BROWN 14, HARVARD 10

Yesterday afternoon, Wheaton College played host to a showdown between the Crimson and the Bears.

Plagued by defensive woes, Harvard could not force a repeat of Wednesday’s results.

“The team was fired up,” Crimson coach Erik Farrar said, “but that was our worst individual defensive game of the year.”

The first half of play saw Harvard get off to a shaky start. The team struggled to find the back of the net as many shots hit the posts, while Brown took advantage of several ejections to get ahead early.

“That put a lot of pressure on us,” Farrar said. “It got us in a very deep hole that we ultimately couldn’t climb out of.”

Although the team couldn’t salvage the second half of play to capture a victory, several players put on a strong showing.

“There were a couple of great individual efforts,” Farrar noted. “Aisha had her best game of the year—she had four goals.”

Sophomore two-meter defenseman Ita Barton-Kettleborough also buried three markers in the squad’s loss, while sophomore Devan Kennifer added two.

Sophomore Shannon Purcell scored once in the losing effort.

HARTWICK 11, HARVARD 8

Saturday’s Senior Night at Blodgett Pool had Harvard pumped up, and when freshman center Elise Molnar put one between the pipes after just over a minute of play, it appeared that the Crimson was on the path to victory.

But by the end of the first period, Harvard was down, 4-1, and the gap was ultimately too large to close.

“It was a frustrating loss,” Farrar said. “We were in it, and we had our opportunities to win, but we didn’t shoot very well. We gave up a couple of goals that we shouldn’t have, and that ultimately decided it.

“We had three rock-solid quarters, but unfortunately against Hartwick, you have to play all four well,” Farrar added.

Indeed, the second period was rock-solid as the Crimson matched the Hawks, scoring three goals apiece. Co-captain Kristina Bergquist and sophomore attack Monica Zdrojewski each chipped in a goal, and junior attack Patricia Smith scored on a breakaway in the strong offensive effort.

But Hartwick’s offensive prowess was clear, as the Hawks easily put the ball away with Harvard defenders on their backs.

“We definitely had our chance,” Farrar said. “But there were no surprises. We were outplayed.”

Helping to preserve a perfect 26-0 record against the Crimson, Hartwick’s sophomore center Allyssa Analytis contributed four goals, despite heavy defense against her.

Junior goalkeeper Jessica Dorman also played a large role, with 12 saves on the night.

But despite the disappointing loss, Harvard too managed to put up strong numbers.

Citing sophomore netminder Laurel McCarthy’s 15 saves, Farrar noted that it was “definitely one of Laurel’s better games.”

Bergquist scored once more in the fourth period to give her two goals for the night, while Zdrojewski chipped in two tallies and also captured five steals.

“It was a bummer that we couldn’t win, but overall we played a pretty good game,” Price concluded.

The Crimson improved on last week’s performance against the Hawks, losing by a margin of three goals instead of seven.

“I was pretty pleased with our efforts,” Farrar said. “We did a lot of very good things.”

For Hartwick, Saturday night’s victory was rewarded with the CWPA North Division regular-season title and an automatic bid to the conference championships.

If Harvard hopes to make it to the competition as well, the team must claim one of two at-large bids, which, according to Farrar, the Crimson has a very strong case for.

“Now, we’re training under the assumption that we’ll go to the conference championships,” he said.