Harvard Women’s Water Polo Wins First-Ever CWPA Championship Title

Harvard women’s water polo (26-6, 10-2 CWPA ) defeated No. 1-seeded Princeton (21-7, 10-3 CWPA) in the Sunday afternoon Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship match to earn the conference title for the first time in program history.

Adding to an already historic season, the Crimson’s victory in the evenly matched, overtime battle extends the program-best single-season win count to 26.

Harvard will have the opportunity to continue its win streak, having won the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championships as well.

Key performances from CWPA MVP freshman goalkeeper Orli Cooper and Rookie of the tournament freshman defender Niki Piovan allowed Harvard to control the match’s pace and thwart several scoring attempts by the Tigers.

“We knew we didn’t come all this way just to beat Michigan,” junior attacker Ruby Hodge wrote in a text. “We came to win a championship. We knew this was the team to make history.”

Harvard 10, Princeton 8

The first quarter proved just how tough this matchup would be, as neither team could score in the entire eight minutes.

Harvard played some of its most aggressive defense of the season, with two players receiving exclusions early on in the period. Cooper tallied up several saves, but neither team seemed to be firing at full speed yet.

Beginning the second quarter on a very different note, Hodge unleashed a powerful skipper shot in the first 30 seconds to give Crimson the first point of the match.

Princeton managed its first point two minutes into the quarter, tying the score.

After failing to capitalize on an initial power play opportunity, Harvard scored on its next chance with Piovan’s quick shot immediately after receiving the pass.

Responding with a successful power play of their own and scoring again after senior attacker Dany Zapata’s hard-fought goal, the Tigers maintained a neck-and-neck race with the Crimson.

Nevertheless, Harvard was the team that set the tone, scoring first each time and forcing Princeton to respond. The Crimson’s defense severely handicapped its opponent by shutting out the Tigers’ top contributor and CWPA regular season MVP.

“I was matched up on her for most of the game,” Hodge wrote. “Defense is the most important part of the game for us. Everything starts on defense because the goals will come naturally.”

Entering the second half of the match, Piovan fired away another goal that was immediately matched by Princeton. But the 7-7 tie was swiftly broken by sophomore attacker Maya O’Dea on the next possession.

The intense pattern of breaking and matching ties continued, with Hodge faking out the Princeton goalie and shooting the ball into the opposite end of the net, and the Tigers’ point at the end of the period from an open attacker to the side.

Although the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds appeared to be stuck in a balanced struggle with solid defenses, Princeton seemed to be feeling the pressure. In the second half of the match, the Tigers mishandled a few passes, reaching far over their heads for a catch or briefly losing their grip on the ball.

These mistakes allowed the Crimson to make a steal on the first possession of the fourth quarter, which Zapata promptly slammed into the back of the goal.

In a welcome relief for Harvard, O’Dea waited out the shot clock until the last second to score and give her team its first two-point lead of the match.

Cooper continued executing crucial saves and forced attackers to aim for the high corners of the goal in hopes of getting the ball just beyond her reach. Unfortunately for the Tigers, these shots resulted in many misses and deflections off the goalpost.

Following a timeout, Princeton managed to bring Crimson’s lead back down to one point on a power play opportunity and eventually returned it to a tie.

In the final 30 seconds of the fourth period, the Tigers called a timeout. If they could score on their coming possession and hold Harvard back, they would break the tie and win the match.

But, unwilling to give Princeton its three-peat CWPA Champion title, the Crimson’s confident defense secured overtime with an aggressive, last-second block to keep the score tied at 8-8.

A fight for possession occurred in the opening sprint of the first overtime period, with multiple players from either team splashing for the ball. Prevailing, O’Dea put away a fiery shot from far off to quickly give Harvard the advantage and earn herself a hat trick.

Princeton’s shots, in comparison, lacked aggression and made easy pickings for Cooper.

Swarming its opponents’ attackers, the Crimson’s defense began the second overtime period with a steal. Later, a Princeton attacker made a passing error at the Harvard goal, handing the ball to the Crimson.

Looking to preserve their 9-8 lead, Harvard burned down the shot clock until Princeton called a timeout ahead of a power play with only 15 seconds remaining in the match.

Although they were desperate to score, Princeton’s shot was firmly rejected by senior attacker Erin Kim’s diving block.

“We cheered louder than we have ever cheered,” Hodge wrote.

With only six seconds remaining, Head Coach Ted Minnis called a timeout, no doubt strategizing how to protect the ball and run down the clock.

In the final moments of the match, two Crimson attackers beat the Princeton goalie back to the net and delivered an electric buzzer-beater, sealing the victory and crowning Harvard the 2025 CWPA Champions.

Harvard players jumped into the pool in celebration, joined soon after by the coaching staff as they celebrated their historic accomplishment.

“This team is love,” Hodge wrote. “We did it all together and I am so proud of this team.”

By securing the CWPA title, the Crimson also earned a spot in the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championships for the first time in program history.

The NCAA Championships will be held May 9-11 in Indianapolis, IN.