Crimson Holds Off Engineers, Enjoys Payback

In two of Harvard’s meetings with MIT last year, overtime spelled death for the Crimson men’s water polo squad. As the clock ticked down its final seconds in the game last night, junior goaltender Robbie Burmeister knew he would have to preserve Harvard’s delicate 8-7 lead and secure the victory during regulation time.

With twelve seconds to go, the players reentered the pool after a brief time-out. With drums from the MIT fans beating in the background, the Crimson and the Engineers prepared themselves for a final battle.

The ball belonged to MIT, and the team poised itself to tie the game. Burmeister waited for the shot, made a beautiful save and sealed the victory for Harvard.

The Crimson (4-4) has now matched its win total from last year. This was a pivotal game for the team, which finished a disappointing eighth at the ECAC with close losses to Navy, Bucknell and the Engineers.

Defeating the Engineers seemed out of reach for Harvard at the start of the game. The Crimson was facing a team with a powerful 11-7 record and coming off a four game win streak. MIT seemed to dominate early, running more drives than Harvard and frustrating the offensive.

But the Crimson defense stayed strong and unraveled the Engineers’ strategy. Harvard began the second period with a stretch of defensive dominance that held MIT to just one goal until the last period.

“I was really proud of the way the guys tightened up on defense,” co-captain Rick Offsay said. “Robbie was doing a good job of coordinating the plays.”

The Engineers attempted to tire out the Crimson’s hole set and main scorer Offsay—a strategy which helped MIT win last week. But Harvard grew wise to the plan and adjusted its play.

“I was really impressed with Rick tonight, specifically because the MIT guys did a really good job of making him swim two to two,” Burmeister said.

With the help of his teammates, Offsay turned in a performance much more dominant than his last against the Engineers.

“The guys did a good job of noticing when I was in trouble and helping me play defense so I didn’t have to run around,” he said. “Once we were able to counter their strategy, we shut them out.”

Harvard seemed like a completely different team for the rest of the game and played with more confidence and skill.

“After their third goal, we really shut them down offensively by pressing hard and communicating better on drives,” Burmeister said.

Leading 6-4 entering the final seven minutes of the game, the Crimson built up a comfortable three goal lead when sophomore Mike Garcia scored on a breakaway a minute into the last period.

But it wouldn’t be a Harvard-MIT game without having a penalty shot awarded to the Engineers, which is how they won both games in overtime last season. The Engineers’ Alexei Zykov netted a goal on a penalty, narrowing the Crimson’s lead to two.

Crimson senior Mike Gerrity answered back with a goal of his own on a Harvard power play, restoring the Crimson’s three goal lead, 8-5.

MIT refused to go quietly into the night, however, scoring two unanswered goals. Ultimately, though, the Engineers were unable to top the Crimson defense and were denied their two final shots by freshman Christopher Ludwick and Burmeister.

MIT drew first blood with the contest’s initial goal. Burmeister swam out of the goal to get the ball, allowing the Engineers’ John Rogers to lob the ball into the net.

“In the first quarter, they got some really easy scoring opportunities,” Burmeister said. “We definitely had some breakdowns that made the game hectic and disorganized.”

Harvard quickly answered back with a goal from Offsay, who would net one more before the period was up.

“Tonight his goals really kept the game from getting away from us,” Burmeister said. “He really gave our team the momentum we needed to get aggressive on offense and defense.”

The Crimson and MIT alternated scoring, neither able to take a lead.

“It was the first big game we were playing away,” Offsay said, “and we were playing a little tentatively in the beginning.”

Sophomore John Voith continued to prove he is no rookie, even though it is his first season with the team. After a quick pass from Garcia, Voith, who was playing next to the post, was able to eke out Harvard’s second goal, keeping his team in it.

“There were a few kinks that needed to be ruffled out,” Voith said of the Crimson’s play early in the game. “After the first period, we got confidence behind us.”

The two teams were tied at three apiece going into the second period, but Harvard finally settled down, forcing the Engineers to wind the shot clock down and make hasty shots.

During MIT’s nearly 14-minute scoreless stretch, senior John Lynch, Garcia and Offsay notched goals to give the Crimson a commanding 6-3 lead.

The Engineers broke their offensive dry spell with a goal by Zykov late in the third period, but its efforts would be too little and too late to ruffle the confident Harvard squad.

The win against MIT allowed the Crimson to reverse the mini-curse that loomed over Harvard before the game started. The Engineers had defeated the Crimson in the team’s last four meetings, and this was a chance for Harvard to prove that this is a different season.

Just twelve hours after the game ended, the Crimson was scheduled to catch a flight to California and play five games this weekend.

“We know many players on these other teams and will get to see our parents and old friends,” Voith said. “These teams are ranked high, and wins would be huge in terms of our national ranking.”

“It will be fun to go out on a emotional high,” Offsay said. “We will have the chance to relax and have fun, while getting valuable training experience.”

—Staff writer Megha Parekh can be reached at parekh@fas.harvard.edu.