Early Ups and Downs for Harvard Continue at North-South

In just over 24 hours at the North-South Tournament in Annapolis, Md., Harvard men’s water polo faced three challenging matchups, including a tournament opener against East Coast powerhouse Bucknell (3-1) on Saturday afternoon.

Despite falling to the Bisons in a lopsided 18-8 decision, the Crimson turned things around later the very same day against Mercyhurst (5-2).

Still reeling after its opener, Harvard battled tough and picked up a convincing 18-7 win before closing out the weekend the next morning with a 10-8 loss to the Navy “B” squad.

The Crimson is still looking to find its rhythm.

With a solid senior presence, an experienced core of returning players, and a formidable freshman class, the pieces are in place.

But due to the absence of senior co-captain Luka Babic in the pool, those pieces have yet to come together to form a cohesive, winning unit.

Babic’s injury, a 15-stitch facial laceration suffered two weekends ago, left the Crimson shorthanded in its three most recent games.

Without the senior leader, the Crimson’s ups and downs continued this weekend.

NAVY 10, HARVARD 8

In the final game of the weekend, Harvard found itself on the losing end of a matchup with Navy’s “B” squad.

Despite playing its third shorthanded game in just over 24 hours, the Crimson put together a solid effort, gaining valuable experience for its freshman class.

“It was a great learning experience ... we regrouped from the mistakes we made in the past and improved on those, and figured out a few things we need to tweak before heading into conference play next week,” senior goalie Alex Popp said.

Harvard was very slow off the block, remaining scoreless well into the second quarter, despite earning a five-meter penalty shot opportunity in the opening stanza.

Freshman two-meter John Holland-McCowan finally put the Crimson on the board and swung the momentum his squad’s way.

Harvard dominated in the mid-game play and fought its way back to a 5-4 lead by the third quarter.

Unfortunately, the Crimson lost its grip on the match, as Navy then went on a powerful run of its own to jump ahead, 10-6.

Harvard scored two last minute goals, but its efforts proved fruitless, as it closed out the weekend with a second loss.

HARVARD 17, MERCYHURST 8

Mercyhurst entered the day undefeated but left with two defeats—one of which came in the form of a Harvard blowout. Midway through the first quarter, Harvard trailed, 4-1, but eventually settled down defensively, only giving up four more goals over the remainder of the game.

Without senior attacker Luka Babic, Harvard turned to its strong freshmen class for contributions.

Harvard coach Ted Minnis praised the performance of Holland-McCowan in this game.

“Against Mercyhurst, [he] had a great all-around game ... He probably played his best collegiate game thus far,” Minnis said.

In the decisive effort, Harvard’s defense congealed and brought a better energy to the pool compared to its morning matchup.

“Our intensity was there; we really focused on the defensive end,” Minnis said.

BUCKNELL 18, HARVARD 8

Harvard’s weekend opened with a rude welcoming from the Bison. Bucknell (3-1) entered the matchup undefeated, and kept on rolling.

The Crimson suffered from a slow start, falling behind, 5-0, after just a quarter.

“We didn’t play our best against Bucknell,” Minnis said. “They’re a very good team, but we made a lot of errors.”

Harvard put up an improved effort in the second and third quarters, trailing each by only one goal.

Bucknell closed the game in similar fashion to the way it has played all year—by dominating.

The Bison spread the wealth, with six players scoring multiple goals. Senior co-captain Spencer Richly scored four goals, and teammate Alex Nowlin had a team-high six points with three goals and three assists.

Throughout the game, Harvard struggled with penalties, giving up eight 6-on-5 opportunities. The Bisons converted five of the eight man-advantage chances.

Despite being overpowered by Bucknell’s transitional speed and precision, Minnis emphasized that the team didn’t leave empty-handed.

“We learned some lessons from it and hopefully we’ll grow as a team from it,” Minnis said.