No. 19 Harvard Men’s Water Polo Secures Second Seed in NWPC Tournament, Ends Conference Play With Two Wins

No. 19 Harvard men’s water polo secured the second seed in the Northeast Water Polo Conference Tournament this weekend, sweeping its last two regular-season games during a three-game homestand at Blodgett Pool.

Though No. 6 Princeton held the Crimson (15-13, 8-2 NWPC) to a season low of six goals, the home team went on to score a season-high 24 in its final match against Iona — its most goals in a game since a 24-17 victory over Long Island University in October 2024. Harvard’s two conference losses this season came against the Tigers, who have won five consecutive NWPC championships.

Senior goalie Oliver Price returned for the Crimson’s first two matches after senior attacker Vilas Sogaard-Srikrishnan — the NWPC Defensive Player of the Week — spent nearly three weeks in the cage. Thirteen of Harvard’s 14 field players scored at least once, contributing to the team’s 48 goals this weekend — including senior utility Mason Cruz Abrams’s first career goal.

Both Princeton and the Crimson will have a bye in the first round of the NWPC Tournament, which will take place from Nov. 20-22 in Cambridge, Mass.

“I wish we would have played a little better in the Princeton game in the first half,” Harvard head coach Ted Minnis said. “But we got done what we had to get done. We got the second seed, and now we just hope that we can get a little rest and get ready for the semis.”

Princeton 12, Harvard 6

In another clash between the two conference rivals, Princeton (25-4, 10-0) outscored Harvard nine to three in the first half — holding the home team to its season-low in goals scored to secure a 12-6 victory.

Price recorded 10 saves in his first match in the cage since the Crimson’s opening weekend of conference play, while senior attacker Jack Burghardt spurred the offense with a hat trick and was the lone Harvard player to score more than one goal.

With both sides maintaining firm defense along their perimeters, the difference came down to physical breakthroughs. The Crimson struggled to find entry passes and were forced into longer shots, allowing Tigers’ senior goalie Kristóf Kovács to make 12 saves.

“We learned a lot of things that we have to do better if we’re going to compete with them and play against them if we’re lucky enough to play them again,” Minnis said. “They’re as advertised.”

A minute into the match, Princeton converted its first power play and found an open entry pass to take a 2-0 lead amid a stretch of Harvard turnovers.

Just two minutes later, the Crimson barely beat the shot clock, but found junior attacker Dean Strauser. The Calabasas, Calif., native ricocheted an outside shot below the crossbar to cut the deficit in half.

Several missed perimeter shots kept Harvard from converting on additional opportunities, while the Tigers used better positioning on offense to create better looks and close the quarter with a 4-1 lead.

Burghardt — the reigning NWPC Player of the Week — scored to open the second quarter, drifting past three defenders to find the back of the net.

Princeton responded with a fast-break score, but a quick Harvard rotation found Sogaard-Srikrishnan for his first goal since his three-week goalie stint.

The Tigers added on three more goals for a 9-3 lead to end the half — including two fast-break conversions and a long-shot buzzer-beater.

Three consecutive saves by Price and a converted penalty shot by sophomore attacker Connor Kim’s kicked off the third quarter. The next few minutes remained relatively slow-paced, as the teams rotated patiently and immediately applied defensive pressure on the opponent’s perimeter, denying scoring opportunities.

The Tigers adapted first to the change of pace, gradually rotating to find an open player at the backpost to reclaim a six-goal lead. Harvard recovered off a time-out — with Sogaard-Srikrishnan dishing an assist to Burghardt for a one-on-one goal in the middle.

Princeton turned the ball over, allowing Strauser to loft a pass to Burghardt, who broke down the pool for a hat trick. Defensively, several additional saves from Price alongside steals from attackers captain Jacob Tsodatze and junior Lukas Peabody limited further scoring.

The Crimson struggled to capitalize on its possessions, allowing the visitors to score the final goal and seal a defensively sound 12-6 victory.

Harvard 19, Long Island University 10

All five of the Crimson’s senior field players were among its 11 goalscorers on Senior Day, as Harvard held Long Island (13-20, 2-7) to just three first-half goals and led by seven points at halftime en route to a 19-10 victory.

Tsodatze led the home team’s offense with four goals, followed by Burghardt’s second hat trick in consecutive games. Three players scored two goals apiece, while six contributed one, including Cruz Abrams, who scored his first-ever goal for the Crimson in the fourth quarter. In net, Price — the team’s sixth and final senior — recorded seven saves.

“I’m proud of them, and they’re going to be missed,” Minnis said about the team’s seniors. “I’m going to enjoy the next two weeks with them, and hopefully a little bit more. They’re a great group of guys.”

Following two saves from the Sharks’ goalie to begin the game, Burghardt tipped the ball off a power play and an assist from Sogaard-Srikrishnan to open the scoring.

LIU equalized within the next minute after securing a rebound, but Tsodatze broke through just 30 seconds later to reclaim the lead. Anchored by several saves from Price, the Crimson scored twice more – including exchanging penalties, though Kim’s power-play conversion built the home team a 5-2 lead at the quarter’s end.

Harvard jumped on a four-goal run in the first four minutes of the second quarter, capped by Peabody’s goal after wrestling past his defender on the right wing to generate space. Thanks to steals from Strauser and sophomore attacker Emil Sogaard-Srikrishnan, the Sharks scored their lone goal of the quarter with two minutes remaining.

Ultimately, freshman center Geoff Slutzky extended the Crimson’s lead to seven, evading three defenders to receive an entry pass from junior defender Tyler Hogan.

Peabody tallied the Crimson’s first goal after halftime, but the team’s momentum declined in the third quarter after several missed and blocked shots. Price saved LIU’s first penalty of the quarter, but the visitors converted their second opportunity with three minutes remaining.

The teams exchanged another goal, and E. Sogaard-Srikrishnan recorded his first of the game to regain a 15-6 lead.

A Tsodatze penalty conversion and Strauser’s quick rotation opened the fourth quarter with two Harvard goals, before the Sharks replied with a sliding shot just before the shot clock expired to keep the deficit at 10.

For his first goal, Cruz Abrams slapped in a shot assisted by V. Sogaard-Srikrishnan. Though LIU scored four of the final five goals, Harvard senior attacker Bradford Dickson maintained the host’s advantage and a 19-10 victory.

Harvard 24, Iona 9

The Crimson scored on all 11 of its first-quarter offensive possessions and built a 13-goal halftime lead, routing Iona (8-22, 1-9) with a season-high goal output in its final regular-season conference match.

Ten Harvard players scored at least one goal for the second straight game, led by five goals apiece from Kim and freshman attacker Clay Carrington — who missed the first two matches of the weekend. Carrington entered the weekend leading the Crimson with 100 goal contributions across 66 goals and 34 assists.

Three seniors — V. Sogaard-Srikrishnan, Tsodatze, and Burghardt — split time in goal and amassed a combined 12 saves.

“We were clicking, and we got some good looks,” Minnis said. “It’s always nice when we’re moving the ball, and we’re getting good catch-and-shoots.”

Carrington opened the game with back-to-back penalty conversions, followed by Kim’s floater for a 3-0 advantage through the first minute. The Gaels responded with an offensive streak of their own, scoring on four of their next five possessions to match Harvard’s goals.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the Crimson continued to score on every offensive possession for the rest of the quarter — capped by two goals from Hogan and Strauser.

Harvard’s momentum continued in the second quarter, as it quickly embarked on a five-goal run backed by quick transition play and six saves from V. Sogaard-Srikrishnan. With four minutes remaining, Iona tallied its first goal of the quarter by slipping a ball through the right wing.

A defensive stop by Hogan led to an assist down the pool to wide-open Burghradt, who lofted the ball over the goalie for an 18-5 lead. Tsodatze took the Crimson’s spot in goal and forced the Gaels to miss a penalty with 1:35 remaining.

In the third quarter, Iona outscored Harvard, opening with a goal on its first possession. Kim responded by converting on a power play, but two defensive stops let the Gaels score two unanswered.

After several misses and offensive turnovers, Tsodatze’s back-to-back saves fueled V. Sogaard-Srikrishnan to end the scoring drought with a pump fake and bounce shot with a minute remaining.

The Sogaard-Srikrishnan brothers combined for the opening goal of the fourth quarter, followed by two goals from Carrington and Slutzky. After several saves from Burghardt — who entered the net with four minutes remaining — Dickson slammed in a penalty for Harvard’s final goal, sealing the 24-8 victory.

Seeking an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament, the Crimson will begin conference playoffs on Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. EST against the winner of third-seed No. 20 Brown and sixth-seed Iona.

Harvard last won the NWPC Championship in 2019 — its third all time — with a 27-0 record and its first undefeated season in program history.

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.