SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The No. 12-ranked Harvard University women’s water polo team earned its ninth and 10th consecutive wins by defeating No. 18 San Jose State University, 13-4, and host/No. 19 San Diego State University, 14-9, on the final day of the 2026 Aztec Invitational.
The Crimson – which improves to 21-1 on the season.- built an lead early against San Jose State with a 4-1 first quarter following goals from Maya O’Dea, Lily Britt and Sofia Del Villar.
Heidi Heffelfinger added the lone Harvard goal in the second quarter. Three saves from Orli Cooper in the frame helped the Crimson maintain a three-goal lead.
The Crimson held the Spartans scoreless in the third quarter and added three goals from three different players. O’Dea deposited her second of the day, while Emma Gilbert and Lucy Berkman got on the scoreboard.
Harvard finished the contest with five fourth quarter goals to secure its 20th win of the season. Ten different Harvard players scored in the Crimson’s nine-point victory.
O’Dea, Britt, and Lucy Levenberg-Penklis each scored twice, while Heffelfinger and Del Villar each tallied a goal and three assists.
Gilbert recorded a team-best two steals in the contest with Cooper making six saves.
In the final game of the weekend, the home team got the upper hand on Harvard early as San Diego State claimed a 4-3 lead after the first quarter. The Aztecs kept pushing early in the second quarter by exploiting a three-goal run to expand their lead to 7-3.
Harvard battled back in the remaining minutes of the half as Niki Piovan scored back-to-back goals, followed by a strike from Ella Schneider. The scoring spurt made the score 7-6 by halftime.
Heffelfinger opened the scoring in the second half to tie the game at seven-all. The Aztecs briefly retook the lead before Petra Klemm scored to make it eight-all. Cooper made three straight saves to hold off the Aztecs before Heffelfinger put Harvard on top with her second goal of the quarter. The Aztecs broke through to level the score at nine-all heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
The Crimson made a series of key defensive stops to open the fourth quarter before Heffelfinger completed a hat trick to give Harvard a 10-9 lead with just over five minutes remaining. O’Dea and Britt scored later in the frame to help Harvard pull away. Schneider and O’Dea potted empty net goals to seal the 14-9 win for the Crimson.
O’Dea led the team with four goals, while Heffelfinger chipped in with a hat-trick and three assists.
Britt and Schneider each scored twice and Klemm recorded one goal.
Piovan scored twice and recorded a team-high four blocks with Cooper making 12 saves in goal.
Release courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
