CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — No. 13-ranked Harvard University women’s water polo swept the Harvard Invitational by topping Villanova University, 19-7, the University of California-Merced, 22-6, No. 14 Princeton University, 8-5, and No. 18 Marist University, 14-8, on Saturday-Sunday, February 28-March 1, at home in Blodgett Pool.
The victories improve the Crimson to 16-1 on the year.
On Saturday, February 28, Harvard defeated Villanova and UC-Merced. The win versus Merced marks the second time this season the Crimson scored 20 or more goals in a contest.
Harvard followed that up with a Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) conference defeat of Princeton in a rematch of the 2025 CWPA Championship title game. The Crimson, which stand at 4-1 in conference play following the win over the Tigers, closed out the weekend by managing Marist.
Against Villanova, big second and third quarters pushed the Crimson to its first win of the weekend. Tied at four apiece after the first quarter of play, Harvard went on to score 11 of the next 14 goals to take a commanding lead. Emma Gilbert and Maya O’Dea led the way for the Crimson, combining for 11 goals on the day.
O’Dea finished the game with four goals and four assists for a total of eight points, whiie Sofia Wang and Ella Schneider each added a goal and an assist.
Lily Britt added two helpers, Petra Klemm scored twice and Gilbert posted six goals and one assist.
Lucy Levenberg-Penklis added three goals and two assists.
Orli Cooper made eight saves, while Sutchie Ofori Nyako came into the game late in the fourth quarter, making three stops and adding an assist.
The Crimson controlled play against UC-Merced after a 10-goal first quarter, with seven different players finding the back of the net in the first eight minutes of action. Adding another seven in the second, the Crimson led 17-2 at the half. By the end of the game, 12 different players had scored in the 22-goal outburst. Klemm led the way for the Crimson with five goals.
Lucy Berkman finished with two goals and three assists, Levenberg-Penklis and Heidi Heffelfinger each added two goals and two assists, Serafina Cortez finished four assists and a goal, while Ella Schneider, Wang, Britt, Sofia Del Villar and Gilbert all scored once. Niki Piovan also found the back of the net twice.
O’Dea capped off the day with three goals and two assists for a total of 15 points against UC-Merced and Villanova.
On Sunday, March 1, Harvard started the program’s Senior Day festivities by beating its archrival, Princeton in raising the teams’ record to 4-1 in conference play.
Against the Tigers, Harvard jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter after goals from O’Dea, Klemm and Gilbert. The Crimson followed that up with another three goals in the second quarter, as O’Dea completed her first-half hat trick with two more goals while Berkman added the other. Klemm and Piovan added the daggers for the Crimson as it picked up a conference win.
In the final game of the weekend, the Crimson controlled play once again, turning a 6-2 lead into a 9-3 advantage by halftime, with eight different players scoring in the game.
Heffelfinger added one goal and three assists, Schneider and Del Villar each added a goal and two helpers, while Piovan scored four goals.
Gilbert added a trio of talies to accompany a pair and an assist from O’Dea along with a goal and an assist by Beatrice Hearey.
Over four games during the weekend, the Crimson averaged 15 goals per game and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 61-25.
Information courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
