Harvard Conquers California Competitors in First Weekend of West Coast Trip

To kick off its first weekend of California matches, No. 12 Harvard women’s water polo (21-1, 4-1 CWPA) yet again made program history by achieving its best 20-game record of 19-1 after the Saturday afternoon win over UC San Diego (9-10).

After two dominant victories over UC San Diego and No. 18 San Jose State (6-14), the Crimson prevailed in a hard-fought battle with No. 19 San Diego State (14-8).

No. 12 Harvard 12, No. 16 UC San Diego 6

It had been 364 days since the Crimson last met the Tritons and emerged victorious, 13-11.

In the Saturday matchup, both teams struggled to score in the first minutes of the opening quarter, seemingly indicative of another close matchup.

After almost five minutes of continued difficulty against the Tritons, junior attacker Lily Britt put the Crimson on the scoreboard with a straight-on shot.

The UC San Diego defense remained bunched in at its goal, throwing up arms to block as much open space as possible. Harvard struggled to find ways around and could not slip a shot past the Triton goalie.

The Crimson put up an equivalent defensive effort too, keeping UC San Diego scoreless in the first quarter.

The second proved far more productive for Harvard, though not yet up to its typical, merciless offensive standards.

Captain utility Ella Schneider managed to sneak the ball past the Triton’s goalline with 6:38 remaining, and sophomore defender Niki Piovan delivered a penalty shot to give the Crimson a 3-0 advantage halfway through the quarter.

UC San Diego finally answered, putting up a point.

Out of a timeout, senior utility Heidi Heffelfinger assisted freshman center Petra Klemm on a fourth Harvard goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Orli Cooper made several saves, especially as the Tritons began honing in their shots.

With 57 seconds left in the half, freshman attacker Beatrice Hearey skillfully delivered a long-distance point, aiming just under three UC San Diego defenders’ arms and into the goal.

But the Tritons managed to find the back of the net with a snappy, skipping shot in the remaining 10 seconds to close the second quarter with a feasible three-point lag.

Both teams scored a point each in the first minute of the third period, but a missed Harvard power play opportunity allowed UC San Diego to cut its deficit down to 6-4.

The Tritons had been able to slow the Crimson down on offense thus far, but a string of Harvard goals began to widen the gap on the scoreboard.

Hearey’s ball, nudged past the goalline by the UC San Diego goalie as they tried to recover it, marked a pseudo own-goal and seventh point for the Crimson.

Then, junior center defender Emma Gilbert scored, to which the Tritons responded. However, Hearey returned for another goal and secured a hat trick.

Junior captain Lucy Berkman secured a goal, doubling UC San Diego’s score in the remaining four seconds of the third, 10-5.

The Tritons scored in the first minute of the final period, eager to overcome their deficit.

A devastating reminder of Crimson dominance quickly followed, as Britt bounced the ball in just before Piovan netted a hat trick.

UC San Diego took a brief timeout with 2:31 left, hoping to at least miraculously double its points to tie the 12-6 score. However, the remainder of the match passed without further scoring from either team.

Cooper ended the match with a final save, totaling 15 to secure the Harvard win.

No. 12 Harvard 13, No. 18 San Jose State 4

San Jose State scored the first goal off a penalty shot nearly three minutes into the match.

O’Dea, in response, tied it up, and soon after Britt scored in a six-on-five situation to give Harvard the lead.

Sophomore attacker Sofia Del Villar charged down the pool on the following possession for a 3-1 cushion four minutes in.

The Crimson later persisted in a long, ultimately successful power play at the Spartan goal. Levenberg-Penklis was the one to deliver the point off a cross-pool assist.

San Jose State was unable to respond, running down the shot clock and trying a desperate, futile lob. With only 16 seconds left in the first quarter, the Spartans tried again but were fronted and blocked by Cooper.

In the second period, both the Spartan and Crimson defenses made scoring opportunities few and far between.

Amid a series of forced turnovers and expiring shot clocks, Harvard charged ahead on a promising breakaway but was blocked in a one-on-one with the San Jose State goalie.

Cooper made several key saves, including on an early Spartan power play opportunity.

San Jose State took a timeout more than halfway through the quarter, with both teams still unable to add to their scores.

Out of the break, however, Heffelfinger tallied Harvard’s first and only goal of the quarter.

The Spartans promptly respond with a point of their own, raising their second goal to the Crimson’s five.

Both teams immediately reentered into another scoreless lull to close out the relatively uneventful quarter.

The Crimson burst ahead to secure the opening possession of the second half, but the Spartan’s goalie quickly dampened Harvard’s energy with three successive blocks.

On the fourth, however, Gilbert netted a strong shot to put the Crimson up 6-2 two minutes in.

O’Dea soon followed up with a point of her own.

San Jose State managed to steal the ball from Harvard on defense, but failed to convert it into a goal.

Regaining possession, Berkman tallied a point to bury the Spartans in an 8-2 deficit by the end of the third quarter.

In the final period, the Crimson maintained its offensive momentum, with two goals from Piovan and Britt before San Jose State could even make a save.

Just before the four-minute mark, Klemm delivered a point that the Spartans immediately challenged with a successful penalty shot.

However, freshman utility Sofia Wang later intercepted a long pass and returned it to the San Jose State goal. The Crimson then outscored its opponent fourfold, 12-3.

With 1:28 left on the game clock, the Spartans finally found the back of the Harvard net.

A final Crimson point from Levenberg-Penklis ultimately sealed the deal as the ball knocked off a defender’s hand and into the goal.

With less than 50 seconds left on the clock and facing an insurmountable 13-4 deficit, the Spartan offense dejectedly tossed the ball away at the buzzer.

No. 12 Harvard 14, No. 19 San Diego State 9

Much like the two earlier matches of the weekend, the Crimson and its opponent were locked in a defensive, scoreless battle at the start.

The Aztecs were first to break the trance with a goal two and a half minutes in.

O’Dea immediately responded with a goal of her own.

Both teams sparked aggressive fights for possession, ruthlessly wrestling opponents and each eliciting a yellow card.

With less than three minutes remaining, Britt scored Harvard’s second point to lead 2-1.

Unwilling to let the Crimson run away with the lead, San Diego State then placed a goal of its own in the upper reaches of the net.

On the Aztecs’ next possession, they received a six-on-five opportunity and leveraged it to regain the lead.

Harvard was not far behind – O’Dea tied it up, but San Diego State secured another point before the end of the quarter.

The Aztecs scored first in the second period, extending their advantage to 5-3.

The Crimson struggled to work around the San Diego State goalie, and aggressive Aztec defenders bunched at the goal, interrupting any up-close shots.

The Aztecs scored two more unanswered goals halfway through the quarter to gain a 7-3 lead.

Piovan, much to the excitement of the Harvard crowd, executed a fast shot and goal.

And on the next possession, Piovan tallied a second point.

After a series of defensive stops for the Crimson and with 13 seconds remaining in the half, Schneider shaved San Diego State’s lead to 7-6.

Heffelfinger then tied it up with a slam into the back of the Aztecs’ net in the first 30 seconds of the third quarter.

San Diego State was unable to immediately respond, but soon captured its eighth goal.

Klemm finally found success for the Crimson at close-range, tossing the ball into the goal whilst being violently splashed and shoved.

With three and a half minutes remaining, Heffelfinger scored to raise Harvard to a 9-8 lead.

The Aztecs tallied a point out of their timeout to tie it up once more heading into the fourth quarter.

Heffelfinger earned a hat trick while pushing the Crimson into double digits nearly three minutes into the final period.

A minute later, O’Dea scored and received her own hat trick as well. Harvard led 11-9.

Cooper consistently clamped down on San Diego State’s offensive attempts, much to the repeated dismay of the Aztec fans behind the goal.

During a power play opportunity, Britt secured another point for the Crimson and forced San Diego State to take a timeout.

In the remaining 1:10, Schneider popped the ball over a lone defender to O’Dea, who tallied her fourth goal.

The Aztecs remained scoreless for the entirety of the final quarter, handing the Crimson a well-fought 14-9 victory.

Harvard will continue its California campaign and historic season with two more matches against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Pomona Pitzer on Wednesday, at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. EDT, respectively.

The Crimson will then go on to play No. 2 UCLA and No. 10 University of California-Irvine next weekend to conclude its West Coast trip.

— Staff writer Bennett Trubey can be reached at [email protected].