CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The No. 9-ranked Harvard University men’s water polo team remains undefeated after winning its first two matches at the Harvard Invitational. The 2016 and 2017 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Champion Crimson opened the day by defeating 2017 and 2018 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion/No. 15 George Washington University, 14-13. In its second match, Harvard took down No. 17/Division III No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), 17-16, in sudden victory overtime.
Leading the Crimson in scoring on the day was junior Dennis Blyashov with seven tallies followed closely by junior Jackson Enright who had six. Sophomore Michael Sonsini recorded six helpers, while Blyashov recorded five. Sophomore goalie Noah Hodge had 22 saves over the two matches.
In its first match of the day, the Crimson got out to an early two-goal lead to start the first quarter and continued to set the pace of the game well into the second. During the second quarter of play, Harvard established a three-goal lead twice.
George Washington mounted a comeback in the third quarter by scoring three-straight goals to tie the match at 10-all. The Colonials erased Harvard’s lead two more times in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 13-all with less than a minute remaining.
Senior captain Austin Sechrest, however, made the play of the game, forcing a turnover that lead to junior Bruno Snow‘s game-winning goal with 43 seconds left in the match.
The Crimson continued its strong start in its second match of the day against Pomona-Pitzer, closing out the first half with an 11-7 lead. Both teams had a quiet third quarter, scoring only two goals each, before Pomona-Pitzer went on a five-goal run in the fourth to tie the match-up at 14-all to force overtime.
In the first overtime frame, Pomona-Pitzer scored first and Enright tied it up by recording a tally with only two seconds left. Sechrest gave the Crimson the lead in the second overtime, but a successful five-meter penalty shot by Pomona-Pitzer forced the contest into sudden victory. Blyashov terminated the contest 32 seconds into the third overtime period by burying the game-winner.
Harvard is now 16-0 and remains the only undefeated team in the nation.
