No. 11 Women’s Water Polo Falls to No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 UC Irvine to Conclude California Tour

Harvard women’s water polo (23-3, 4-1 CWPA) ended its seven-match stretch in California 5-2, dropping the last two matches to No. 2 UCLA (16-2) and No. 9 UC Irvine (11-12) this weekend.

The Crimson entered into the final weekend of matches with two shutout Wednesday wins over Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Pomona-Pitzer. Five different Harvard players earned hat tricks during the double-header, adding to the respective 17-7 and 18-5 final scores.

But, on Saturday, the Crimson found the tables had turned as the second-best team in the nation handed it a 15-4 loss, while the Sunday match against UCI proved a more even contest, with several lead changes and ties throughout.

No. 11 Harvard 4, No. 2 UCLA 15

The Bruins scored first with a straight-on shot, catching the Crimson off guard early on.

UCLA then capitalized on a power play on its following possession, putting Harvard down 2-0 only two minutes in.

The Crimson struggled to make accurate passes and overcome the Bruins’ stubborn defense.

Before the halfway point of the quarter, UCLA slammed a penalty shot into the back of the Harvard goal.

The Crimson allowed two more Bruin points, the first attacker making a quick tip off an assist and the second sinking a breakaway goal.

Relief soon arrived for Harvard as junior attacker Maya O’Dea tallied the Crimson’s first goal.

But, UCLA immediately followed up with another point of its own and a later shot-clock buzzer beater. Harvard, with only 10 seconds remaining, could not produce a second point and ended the first period with a daunting 7-1 deficit.

Sophomore defender Niki Piovan executed a sharp-angle score to start the second quarter.

The Bruins scored twice before four minutes elapsed, leveraging a power play opportunity and quick passing to open up space in the Crimson net.

Before the end of the quarter, freshman utility Lucy Levenberg-Penklis stole the ball in transition, enabling Harvard to draw a six-on-five opportunity, and setting Piovan up to send a shot skipping off the water and in.

Both teams started the second half of the match with turnovers and wide shots.

Harvard, returning to its aggressive defensive tactics, thwarted a rare six-on-four scoring opportunity from the Bruins halfway through the period.

With 2:33 remaining, Piovan was the first to finally break the quarter’s scoreless spell, simultaneously earning a hat trick.

UCLA tallied its own goal in response, bumping the score up to 11-4.

Neither the Crimson nor its opponent claimed another point in the third quarter. Harvard’s defensive successes were due in large part to several key saves from sophomore goalkeeper Orli Cooper.

Early on in the final period, the Bruins strong-armed the ball in for one point, and delivered an unanticipated mid-distance shot for a second.

After an extended scoring drought, UCLA put another point on the board, placing the ball in the upper part of the net beyond Harvard defenders’ reach.

Up 14-4, the Bruins wielded an unstoppable momentum, scoring a fifteenth point and forcing a turnover on the Crimson’s next possession.

Harvard called a timeout with 1:18 left, pulling its goalkeeper to put out a seventh player. Although the Crimson was given a power play opportunity for a seven-on-five advantage, it missed its final chance to score wide.

UCLA waited out the remainder of the game clock, claiming Harvard’s second loss of the season and the first of its California tour.

No. 11 Harvard 10, No. 9 UC Irvine 12

The Anteaters were the first to score exactly one minute into the matchup, and forced a turnover immediately afterwards to return for a second point.

The Crimson then responded as Piovan assisted senior utility Heidi Heffelfinger in putting Harvard on the scoreboard.

However, UCI soon found the back of the net on a later possession.

Sophomore attacker Sofia Del Villar revived the Crimson’s offensive momentum with a steal and charge down the pool to score halfway through the quarter.

On Harvard’s next possession, O’Dea delivered a third point to tie the match.

A late-quarter pair of successful penalty shots for O’Dea and junior center defender Emma Gilbert allowed Harvard to surge ahead with a 5-3 lead.

The Anteaters, plagued with turnovers throughout the quarter, could only manage their fourth point in a six-on-four opportunity just before the buzzer sounded.

After a brief scoring lull at the start of the second period, O’Dea capitalized on a power play nearly a minute and a half in to earn a hat trick.

UCI was quick to answer with its own point. The Anteaters scored again on a woman-up chance, tying it up at 6-6 with four minutes left on the clock.

A series of missed and blocked shots for Harvard and UCI alike closed out the first half of the match.

The third period began in a similarly scoreless manner.

The Anteaters were awarded a power play opportunity with 5:35 left and called an immediate timeout to strategize how they might break the tie, but a quick turnover dashed their hopes of getting ahead of the Crimson.

Cooper tallied seven of her 14 total saves in the third quarter alone, repeatedly frustrating UCI’s offense.

The long stretch of failed offensive attempts continued until, with just 1:48 remaining, Gilbert scored the first point of the quarter with a skillful shot past the goalie.

In response, UCI managed a point of its own. The score was then locked at 7-7 heading into the final quarter.

Off to a stronger start than in the past two quarters, the Anteaters scored first less than a minute in.

Now with the advantage, UCI steeled itself against Harvard’s offense, but the Anteaters could not stop O’Dea’s eventual, powerful penalty shot.

The Crimson’s opponent, refusing to relinquish the lead, then went on to score twice in a row, benefitting from a power play and a turnover.

Out of a timeout halfway through the quarter, UCI tallied another point for an 11-8 advantage.

Despite its opponent’s growing lead, Harvard did not allow its play to falter throughout the remainder of the quarter.

O’Dea, bolstering the Crimson’s offense throughout the match, scored her fifth point off an assist from Gilbert with two minutes left.

The Anteaters put together another goal with 11 seconds remaining.

Levenberg-Penklis got the last word, executing a long-distance buzzer beater to cut UCI’s win to only a two-point margin, but the Anteaters were able to secure the victory.

Harvard now looks ahead to its final regular season match on April 4 at 1:00 p.m. against No. 22 Brown University (13-6, 3-2 CWPA). If the Crimson wins, it will claim the No. 1 seed heading into the CWPA Championships, while a loss would place it at No. 4. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

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