West Coast Schools Overpower Crimson

For the Harvard men’s water polo team, last weekend’s trip to California was anything but a beach vacation.

The Crimson (6-14, 6-9 CWPA) went 0-5 in The Rodeo, an 18-game invitational tournament hosted by Santa Clara University. Of the nine teams in the field, seven ranked among the top 20 in the nation.

“We came into this tournament knowing that we were going to play some of the toughest competition in the country,” sophomore attacker William Roller said. “We had the expectation that this trip was going to be a learning experience of seeing how these top programs play.”

SANTA CLARA 13, HARVARD 4

The Crimson finished tournament play with a 13-4 loss to No. 15 Santa Clara (15-12). The Broncos dominated the first half, outscoring Harvard 13-2. Freshman two-meter John Holland-McCowan and freshman utility player Max Murphy both scored in the first half for the Crimson. Harvard finished the match on a positive note, with senior attacker Evan Zepfel and Murphy scoring in the final frame.

Although the Crimson left California without a win, the team values the experience.

“We were looking to get better against some of the top competition in the country so that we can achieve our goal, which is to do well at [the Northern Championships] in two weeks and make [the Eastern Championship],” Harvard coach Ted Minnis said.

PEPPERDINE 20, HARVARD 2

The Crimson resumed play on Sunday, losing its first game of the day to No. 6 Pepperdine (12-8) by a score of 20-2. The Waves scored seven straight goals to open the game before Harvard rookie Evan Ramsey and sophomore attacker William Roller scored consecutive goals to put Harvard on the scoreboard. Pepperdine netted another goal just before halftime and followed with 12 more unanswered goals in the second half to seal the win.

STANFORD 19, HARVARD 3

Things did not get any easier for the Crimson, as it fell No. 3 Stanford (13-3) in the second of Saturday’s two games, 19-3.

Falling behind 6-0 at the end of the first quarter, Harvard struggled to slow down a balanced Cardinal offensive attack that saw 11 different players score at least one goal.

“Stanford was definitely the best team we’ve played all year,” Minnis said. “They’re big, they’re fast and strong, and I think we learned what we need to do to go up under pressure.”

UC DAVIS 20, HARVARD 2

In its first game on Saturday, Harvard was blown out by No. 12 UC Davis (18-7) by a score of 20-2.

Both teams scored in the first two minutes, with co-captain Kevin DiSilvestro netting his only goal of the game to tie the score at one. Aggie senior center Aaron Salit answered back tallying three of UC Davis’s five consecutive first quarter goals to take the lead for good.

The Crimson showed a glimpse of promise in the second quarter. Ramsey scored his first goal of the tournament, cutting the Aggie lead to four, but Harvard was unable to put another shot into the back of the net, and UC Davis ran away with the win.

CAL BAPTIST 12, HARVARD 10

The Crimson opened its schedule with an overtime loss to No. 18 Cal Baptist (20-6) on Friday night. Junior utility player Scott Gleason netted two goals in the extra period to seal the victory for the Lancers.

Harvard trailed 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, with DiSilvestro scoring the Crimson’s only two goals of the frame. Cal Baptist outscored Harvard again in the second period, firing two more shots into the back of the net. Zepfel scored the Crimson’s only second period goal to cut the Cal Baptist lead to 5-3 going into halftime.

Offense dominated in the third quarter, with both teams scoring four goals. Harvard junior two-meter player Max Eliot scored both of his goals in the third quarter to keep the Crimson deficit at two.

It seemed that Cal Baptist would easily pull away with the win, taking a three-goal lead with a tally early in the fourth quarter, but Roller scored back-to-back goals, and DiSilvestro completed his hat trick to send the game into overtime, where UC Davis won, 12-10.

“We wanted it more than them,” senior goalie Alexandre Popp said. “Unfortunately, they had two quick goals in the overtime period, and we couldn’t come back. It was a good battle, and it really reaffirmed our belief that we can play with anyone in the nation.”