Weekend Sports Recap, Sept. 8-10

Men’s Water Polo

At this weekend’s Princeton Invitational, No. 18 Harvard men’s water polo won its two Saturday matches against George Washington and Bucknell before losing Sunday’s tournament finale to No. 20 Fordham. Harvard’s goalies continued to split time in net, as first-year Oliver Price and sophomore Tanner Furtak both saw action over the weekend’s three games. Reigning NWPC Rookie of the Week Jack Burghardt continued his strong play, with seven goals on the weekend, and the Crimson received offensive contributions from across the lineup, with 12 different Harvard players recording goals. Next up, the Crimson will take on Mercyhurst on Sunday at home in Blodgett Pool before NWPC play kicks off against Princeton on the road on Sept. 30.

Field Hockey

This past weekend, No. 14 Harvard field hockey took a road trip to Virginia for a pair of games against No. 6 Virginia and No. 9 Liberty. Despite hard-fought pushes, the Crimson was unable to overcome either of these top-10 teams, losing 1-0 and 2-1 to Virginia and Liberty, respectively. Harvard — known for its defensive character and strength in overtime periods — pushed the undefeated Flames into overtime for the second time this season. However, the Crimson’s defense came first in its matchup against Virginia as it held the Cavaliers to one goal, despite being unable to find the back of the net. This week, Harvard will prepare for its Ivy season opener, a Friday evening game against Dartmouth on Berylson Field.

Men’s Golf

Harvard men’s golf finished third at the Doc Gimmler Classic this weekend, hosted by St. John’s at the Bethpage Red Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. On the course, the Crimson was led by senior Brian Ma, whose finish at five-under-par was good enough to tie him for fifth at the tournament. Junior Diego Saavedra-Davila finished at two-under-par, which put him in a tie for 13th. After winning the tournament last year, Harvard finished two shots behind second-place Georgetown, but a whopping 15 shots behind champion Columbia. For their next tournament, the Crimson will travel to New Haven, Conn. for the MacDonald Cup, hosted at the Yale Golf Course.

Women’s Volleyball

After losing a five-set match in its first game of a three-game trip to Ohio, the Harvard women’s volleyball team rebounded with two straight 3-0 sweeps, putting the Crimson’s record at 5-1. On Friday morning against the University of Akron, Harvard won the first two sets before dropping three in a row to lose its first match of the season. However, the Crimson rebounded with a resounding victory against Cleveland State, winning the first two sets handily before emerging victorious in a tight third set. On Saturday morning, Harvard breezed through the first set against Bucknell before hanging on to win the second and third set by two points each. Seniors Ava Rauser and Ashley Wang and first-year Ryleigh Patterson were all named to the CSU Invitational All-Tournament team with their strong performances, which they will hope to carry over into the Crimson’s next match on Thursday at home against Merrimack.

Men’s Soccer

Harvard men’s soccer fought to a dramatic draw with Seton Hall on Saturday afternoon, with a 90th minute goal from senior Nik White drawing the Crimson level and earning the draw. Despite the late equalizer, Harvard generated offense throughout the match, recording a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal. On Tuesday night, the Crimson fell apart late against Northeastern, with the Huskies tallying three goals in the final 15 minutes of play to record a 4-0 victory. Harvard’s next match will be a tough test at home on Saturday against No. 12 Vermont,

Women’s Soccer

After recording an 0-1-1 record on its California road trip over the weekend of Sept. 1, Harvard women’s soccer rebounded with a pair of convincing victories over Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents this past weekend. Against Syracuse on Sept. 7, Harvard posted a season high five goals in a convincing 5-2 victory. The Crimson scored three goals in the first 26 minutes of the match, including two by Hannah Bebar, a First-Team All-American last year. On Sunday against North Carolina State, Harvard secured a 2-0 victory behind a brace from senior Gabby DelPico, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week for her performance. This weekend, the Crimson will face off with Samford and St. John’s, with its first Ivy League match against reigning league champion Brown looming on Sept. 23.

Women’s Rugby

Harvard women’s rugby posted a dominant victory in its home opener on Friday night, defeating American International College by a score of 65-0. 12 different Crimson players put up points in the contest, led by first-year Maya Hilger with 12 and sophomore Skylar Jordan with nine. Harvard will host non-conference games at home on the next two Saturdays, against Queens University of Charlotte and Army, before Ivy League play begins on Sept. 30 against Brown.

-Staff writer Aaron Shuchman can be reached at aaron.shuchman@thecrimson.com