No. 15 Harvard women’s water polo (24-6, 10-2 CWPA) is heading to the Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship match Sunday after a successful playoff run in Providence, RI.
In its matchup against Mercyhurst (5-22, 0-7 CWPA), the Crimson did not let up after taking an early, decisive lead. In the Saturday semi-final, Harvard prevailed despite a gritty overtime battle against No. 16 Michigan (18-11, 9-3 CWPA).
The Crimson clinched a share of the program’s first-ever conference title at the end of the regular season. Harvard entered the tournament weekend as the second seed and earned its spot in the Championship match on Sunday.
Throughout the season, the Crimson has flexed a well-rounded roster. Freshman Niki Piovan was named CWPA Rookie of the Year and earned First Team honors alongside sophomore center defender Emma Gilbert.
Freshman goalkeeper Orli Cooper, junior attacker Ruby Hodge, and sophomore attacker Maya O’Dea were named to the CWPA Second Team. Head Coach Ted Minnis was awarded CWPA Coach of the Year as well.
Harvard 20, Mercyhurst 5
The Crimson started the first quarter of its match against Mercyhurst by winning the opening sprint for possession of the ball, which it would continue to do in all four periods.
O’Dea scored Harvard’s first goal of the tournament off of a cross-pool pass from junior goalie Sutchie Ofori-Nyako. Immediately after, Gilbert followed up with her own point in the next possession.
Clearly focused on securing a strong start to the match, the Crimson used its trademark aggression as it pounced on any Mercyhurst passes, tallying up interceptions and turnovers.
The Lakers made a pair of goal attempts early on that were negated by offensive fouls, as Mercyhurst faced increasing pressure from Harvard’s defense.
Piovan scored her first goal, shooting the ball through the goalie’s hands and into the net. Junior utility Heidi Heffelfinger then contributed two back-to-back points of her own.
The Crimson’s speed and rapid passes allowed it to get ahead of Mercyhurst’s defense and challenge the goalkeeper.
Although the Lakers put together a cohesive defense towards the end, their offense was unable to produce in the first quarter, giving Harvard a 6-0 lead.
The Crimson continued forcing scrambles for possession in the second period, but Mercyhurst was finally able to score its first point more than two minutes in off of a long-distance shot.
Seemingly inspired by a potential weak spot in Harvard’s block, the Lakers secured another long-range point.
Gilbert responded by recording the Crimson’s first goal of the quarter. However, the opponent stuck by its new strategy and found success with a shot further from the goal again.
An assist from sophomore attacker Serafina Cortez helped fellow sophomore attacker Lucy Berkman start a string of three Harvard points to close out the first half of the match up 10-3.
Reinvigorating its defense, the Crimson began the third quarter literally pushing back Mercyhurst players’ attempts to advance on the goal. Despite a few power play opportunities, the Lakers could not score throughout the entire eight minutes.
Harvard, on the other hand, scored five goals — including a rebound off of the goalpost from senior center Kaity Greenwald and a sneaky lob over the goalie’s head from Heffelfinger.
Cortez made quick work of the Lakers with a goal in the last 40 seconds of the quarter, forcing the Lakers to call a timeout and try to regroup ahead of the final period.
Unfortunately for Mercyhurst, there was little difference in the fourth quarter. The Crimson again scored five goals, starting with Greenwald’s back-to-back points to earn a hat trick.
Mercyhurst did find hope in the form of another long goal and a typical shot, but Harvard did not let up despite its decisive 15-point lead.
Rolling with impressive momentum, the Crimson closed out the match 20-5 with a demoralizing interception as the Lakers attempted a last-second goal.
Harvard 9, Michigan 8
This anticipated matchup between the Crimson and the Wolverines started with intensity as Harvard immediately intercepted its opponent’s first possession.
The interception then turned into a goal for O’Dea, taking advantage of a power play and a pass from Hodge to give the Crimson the first lead only a minute into the match.
Harvard fired away another shot attempt that was blocked by Michigan’s goalkeeper and missed a penalty shot before the Wolverines could tie the score.
The tension in the pool between the teams was palpable — eight exclusions were called in the first quarter alone as both teams fiercely guarded their goals.
In a rare breakaway opportunity, Heffelfinger burst ahead of the Michigan defense and set up Berkman, following close behind, who fired away at the goal. However, the Crimson would only remain ahead for a moment, as Michigan tied it back up soon after.
The Wolverines intercepted a pass and sped down the pool in the final seconds, looking to end the quarter on top.
Michigan’s quick passes at the goal put Harvard’s defense on edge, but Cooper firmly rejected the buzzer-beater attempt.
In the second period, the Wolverines continued moving the ball around in front of the net, hoping to spread the overwhelming Crimson block thin. However, with Cooper easily covering any gaps, Michigan was unable to score in almost the entire first half of the second quarter.
With their eventual goal, the Wolverines pulled ahead. But, Harvard then scored off of an exclusion opportunity and a penalty shot from Gilbert, flipping the lead once more.
The first half of the game ended in a bit of a panic for the Wolverines -—one player fouled out and another forgot to get in the pool after a timeout, leaving the team down a member momentarily. But, both teams remained tied 4-4.
Piovan put on a defensive show, securing two crucial blocks at the beginning of the third quarter and warding off the opponent.
The nail-biting lead-swapping continued, with Michigan scoring what would be the only goal for either team in the period. Harvard made many powerful shots on the opponent’s goal that barely missed the net or were blocked by the goalkeeper.
Returning with a vengeance, O’Dea scored a point in the first 30 seconds, kicking off the fourth period for the Crimson.
A minute later, Piovan caught the Michigan defense off guard by firing off an impressive, long-range goal.
The Wolverines again forced the match back into a tie, which O’Dea countered to earn herself a hat trick with three minutes remaining.
To the Crimson’s concern, its opponent scored twice to command the lead in what would have been the final moments of the match, were it not for Piovan.
Exploiting a power play situation and faking out the defenders, the freshman kept Harvard’s hopes of playing in the championship alive as the match proceeded into overtime at 8-8.
The first overtime began with a sense of urgency on Michigan’s side, while the Crimson appeared calm and controlled. Senior utility Dany Zapata scored early in the three-minute period.
Michigan ultimately could not match up, trying in vain to get a shot past the imposing defenders and Cooper. The second overtime period ended with the Crimson running out the clock and embracing at the buzzer, celebrating its semi-final victory.
Hoping to cap off its historic season with the program’s first title, Harvard will face regular season co-champion No. 10 Princeton (21-6, 10-2 CWPA) in the CWPA Championship match Sunday.
‘YOU BETTER SHOW UP!’ | First Take
