No. 15 Harvard University Hibernates Brown University, 11-9, in 2022 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship Third Place Game

Brown University-vs.-No. 15 Harvard University Scoresheet (2022 Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship – Game #9/Third Place)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Goalkeeper Noah Hodge (Sr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) stopped nine shots to make the difference as No. 15-ranked Harvard University stymied host Brown University, 11-9, as the Crimson claimed the 2022 Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Championship Third Place game at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.

Harvard (21-9, 9-2 NWPC) – which was slated to host the 2022 event prior to trading dates with Brown due to Cambridge serving as site of the Harvard-Yale University football game – improves to 3-0 against the Bears (16-17, 4-6 NWPC) this year following 15-10 and 10-8 regular season wins. 

Historically, Harvard has now placed First (2016, 2017, 2019), Second (2018), Third (2022) and Fourth (2021) as the team has never failed to make the semifinals of the NWPC Championship. 

A five-time Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA)/Eastern Champion (19821, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2014) and six-time runner-up (1978, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990), Brown previously placed Second (2016), Third (2017, 2019, 2021) and Fourth (2018) at the NWPC Championship.  This year’s Third Place game was a rematch of the 2021 event at Princeton University in which the Bears topped the Crimson by a 15-13 score.

Harvard – which never led in the game until the 2:46 mark of the fourth quarter – fell behind early as Brown’s Cole Atwell (Sr., San Diego, Calif./LaJolla) torqued in shots at 7:34 and 49 seconds to stake the Bears to a 2-0 margin at the conclusion of the first quarter.

The Crimson got on the board at the 6:53 mark of the second quarter as Alex Tsotadze (Sr., Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory) broke through for a strike, but Max Boucher (Jr., Coconut Grove, Fla./Coral Reef Senior) answered via a man-up marker at 6:13 to return a two goal lead to the Bears at 3-1.

The teams exchanged scores over the remainder of the frame as Michael Sonsini (Sr, Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory) chipped the lead down to 3-2 (5:51) and Ben Resko (So., San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) responded at 5:35 to make it a 4-2 game.  The back-and-forth appeared to turn in favor of the Crimson as Tsotadze (4:28, man-up) and James Rozolis-Hill (Fr,, Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) (1:58) squared the squads at four-all.  However, Kirshon had the last laugh of the first half by lining a man-up opportunity into the cage at 1:17 to push Brown back in front at 5-4.

Neither team was able to score again until the 3:34 mark of the third quarter when Evan Moore (Jr., Ventura, Calif./Ventura) broke free for a power-play strike to expand the Bears’ lead to 6-4.

Alex James (So., Burlington, Ontario/Assumption Catholic Secondary School) answered with his own man-up tally at 2:13 to keep the Bears within reach at 6-5, but Kirshon swished another extra-man opportunity at 1:50 to return Brown’s lead to a pair at 7-5.

The back-and-forth between the two Ivy League institutions continued as Rozolis-Hill drilled in the fourth consecutive man-up marker of the third quarter with 46 seconds left, but Daniel Khristich (Fr., San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) unleashed a retort with 10 ticks on the clock to keep Brown comfortably ahead at 8-6 heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.

Harvard erased its deficit in short order to start the fourth quarter as Rozolis-Hill (5:54) and James (5:31) knotted the contest at eight-all.

Thomas Hoffmeister (Jr., Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) put Brown ahead once again at 9-8 with 5:03 to play, but the Crimson defense stiffened and Harvard’s offense reawakened to turn the tides in the contest.

James evened the damage at nine-all (4:14) prior to Tsotadze placing Harvard into the lead for the first time at 10-9 with 2:46 left on the clock.  Tsotadze struck again at 1:15 with an insurance tally to allow the Crimson to escape Providence with a come-from-behind 11-9 victory.

For Brown, Atwell and Kirshon both scored twice with Hoffmeister, Boucher, Khristich, Moore and Resko accounting for single tallies.  Kole Newman (Fr., Santa Monica, Calif./Brentwood School) made four saves with four goals allowed in the first half and Simeon Dong (So., Solana Beach, Calif./Canyon Crest Academy) took the loss with two saves and seven goals permitted in the second half.

Harvard received multi-goal games from Tsotadze (four), James (three) and Rozolis-Hill (three) with Sonsini tossing in a single one.