No. 13 Women’s Water Polo Sweeps Sunday Matches, Earns Undefeated Home Record

Harvard women’s water polo ended its final weekend of home competition with a bang, cementing an undefeated, 9-0 record in Blodgett Pool.

After making quick work of Siena College (3-7) Sunday morning, the Crimson bulldozed Virginia Military Institute (6-7) to score a total of 42 points on the day.

Ahead of its second consecutive weekend at home, Harvard earned all three CWPA weekly player awards.

Freshman center Petra Klemm was named Rookie of the Week, sophomore goalkeeper Orli Cooper received Defensive Player of the Week, and junior attacker Maya O’Dea was dubbed Player of the Week for their performances in the sweep of last weekend’s Harvard Invite.

No. 13 Harvard 19, Siena 5

Sophomore attacker Sofia Del Villar kicked off the Crimson’s scoring with a charge on the goal and a simple toss over the goalie and in.

Del Villar then immediately scored again on the next possession, shocking the Saints with a 2-0 lead only two minutes in.

Later, senior utility Heidi Heffelfinger tallied the third goal for Harvard off a Del Villar assist.

The Crimson frequently interrupted Siena’s early offensive attempts with steals, two of which freshman utility Lucy Levenberg-Penklis converted into Harvard points.

Out of a timeout, the Saints’ energy proved all bark and no bite as the Crimson scored yet again.

Siena finally received a 6-on-5 opportunity after being unable to protect several possessions. But, as per usual, Cooper made a crucial save to keep the Saints scoreless in the first quarter.

In the first minute of the second period, junior center defender Emma Gilbert tallied Harvard’s seventh point.

The Saints were stubbornly energetic as they seemed to inch closer towards offensive progress.

O’Dea scored twice and Klemm once to close out the first half of the match, sailing the Crimson into double digits.

A quick assist from Del Villar into an explosive shot from Gilbert then made it 11-0 in the first 30 seconds of the third.

Harvard received a power play opportunity, but could not capitalize on it. Siena’s new goalkeeper substitution proved more resistant to the Crimson’s offense and made scoring more difficult in the second half of the match.

Harvard did score again two minutes later, but this time, the Saints responded with a successful penalty shot to put themselves on the scoreboard.

Del Villar countered Siena’s goal with another successful lob, earning a hat trick.

The Saints managed a second point, and their goalie blocked a strong, close-range shot, but could not stop O’Dea from capitalizing on a power play.

Levenberg-Penklis, embracing the Crimson’s scoring trend of simply tossing the ball over the goalie, achieved a hat trick as well.

Siena new goalie’s contributions slowed Harvard’s scoring enough to inspire the Saints on offense. They chipped away at the lead with two more points at the end of the quarter.

The Crimson was immediately awarded a 6-on-5 at the opening of the final period. After a timeout to strategize, junior captain Lucy Berkman lured the goalkeeper out for a sneaky point.

Desperate to shore up some points, Siena secured one of its own to make it 16-5.

Unfortunately for the Saints, they could not score again in the remaining five minutes of the match.

Harvard, however, found the back of the goal three more times.

The Crimson’s physicality showed out in the final moments as Klemm, actively pushed underwater by multiple defenders, slipped the ball past Siena to finish out the match with a 19-5 Harvard victory.

No. 13 Harvard 23, VMI 7

The Keydets proved to be a more persistent offensive threat than the Saints. However, Harvard’s defense rose in response, blanking VMI on the scoreboard in the first quarter.

Heffelfinger scored for the Crimson almost immediately, which Harvard followed up on in its next possession as well.

The Crimson engaged in several scuffles with the Keydets’ offense. In one instance, Cooper left the goal to pursue a VMI attacker and overturn possession.

Freshman attacker Beatrice Hearey put on a show in the first quarter, scoring three times in a row in less than a minute and a half to earn an early hat trick.

O’Dea and Levenberg-Penklis each tallied a points in the first period to extend the lead to 7-0.

Captain Ella Schneider secured two goals in the first minute of the second quarter, while VMI overshot a high lob and landed it atop the goal instead.

Moments later, Del Villar faked the goalie into diving early and delivered Harvard into double-digit territory.

Berkman, Hearey, Levenberg-Penklis, and junior attacker Serafina Cortez each contributed a point, outweighing the two points the Keydets finally managed in the final minutes of the half.

The Crimson was unrelenting in the third and fourth quarters, despite its 15-2 lead following a goal from O’Dea less than 30 seconds in. In close quarters, O’Dea struck the goalkeeper with the ball to ricochet it into the goal.

Soon after, Levenberg-Penklis achieved her second hat trick of the day.

Two more Harvard goals were tallied before VMI could manage its third.

Klemm responded with a goal, which the Keydets matched just before junior attacker Lily Britt upped the Crimson dominance to 20-4.

VMI continued with its efforts on offense, recovering a blocked ball to score a fifth point.

The remaining 21 seconds of the third quarter contained fast-paced action for both teams, as Britt secured another goal from the same angle as the first and left just four seconds on the clock.

Perhaps already counting its opponent out, the Crimson did not expect the Keydets to launch the ball across the pool in the final seconds and score.

With an assist from Britt to Klemm two minutes into the final quarter, the Crimson easily restarted its lightly hampered momentum.

Both Harvard and VMI ran down their shot clocks looking for open opportunities. The Keydets found a chance first and utilized it to shave their deficit down to 22-7.

On the following possession for the Crimson, however, Heffelfinger wrestled with VMI defenders and slammed the ball into the goal to restore the 15-point lead.

The Keydets called a futile timeout with two minutes left. Basking in its well-earned confidence, Harvard did not even huddle up at the pool’s edge.

The Crimson’s shot clock burned down, and the buzzer then sounded to signal the end of Harvard’s home competition in 2026.

The Crimson will now travel to California for a spring break week of West Coast competition. Harvard will first face off against No. 14 UC San Diego on March 14. The match will be livestreamed on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. EDT.

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