PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Heidi Heffelfinger (Jr., Lafayette, Calif./Acalanes) scored four times to claim Player of the Game recognition as No. 15-ranked Harvard University overwhelmed Mercyhurst University, 20-5, in the opening game of the 2025 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship hosted by Brown University at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.
Courtesy the victory, Harvard (24-6, 10-2 CWPA) advances to a 3:00 p.m. Eastern clash on Saturday, April 26, against the winner of another first round game matching No. 16 the University of Michigan and Saint Francis University. Harvard went 2-0 against SFU during the regular season with 17-9 and 18-1 wins, while the Crimson split with the Wolverines by picking up a 14-3 victory and suffering a 9-7 setback.
Mercyhurst (5-22, 0-12 CWPA) falls into the consolation side of the seven-team championship bracket as the Lakers will conclude their 2025 campaign by taking on the loser of host/No. 20 Brown University-vs.-Bucknell University at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, prior to meeting the loser of the Michigan-Saint Francis game at 5:00 p.m.
Harvard – which is guaranteed to finish no lower than Fourth Place in the final seven-team championship standings following prior second (2022, 2023), third (2000), fourth (2017, 2019, 2024), fifth (2004, 2005), sixth (2003, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016), seventh (2001, 2002, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2018) and eighth (2006, 2007, 2010) place finishes at the event – never trailed as the Cambridge squad raced out to a 6-0 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter thanks to strikes by Maya O’Dea (So., Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson) (6:18), Emma Gilbert (So., Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) (5:55), 2025 CWPA Rookie of the Year Niki Piovan (Fr., Vouliagmeni, Greece/HAEF Athens College) (3:59), Heffelfinger (3:23, 2:59) and Lily Britt (So., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) (2:17).
Allie Dombkowski (Gr., Erie, Pa./McDowell) (6:11) and Marley Hanlon (So., Orlando, Fla./Lake Mary) (5:28) put Mercyhurst on the scoreboard with back-to-back tallies in the dawning moments of the second quarter to move the Lakers within 6-2.
Gilbert (4:46) and DombkowskI (2:51) exchanged markers to flip the scoreboard to 7-3 prior to Lucy Berkman (So., Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) (2:29), Sofia Del Villar (Fr., Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) (1:49) and Ruby Hodge (Jr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita) (1:18) pumping in back-to-back-to-back goals for Harvard to close out the contest’s first 16 minutes with a 10-3 lead.
Heffelfinger (6:43, 3:23), Dany Zapata (Sr., Cali, Colombia/Meriden School) (5:50), Kaity Greenwald (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar) (2:30) and Cortez (33 seconds) built upon the Crimson’s first half scoring foundation by combining for a 5-0 output in the third quarter to inflate the spread to 15-3 heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
Greenwald (7:11, 6:13) continued Harvard’s scoring run by notching a pair of tallies within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to expand the spread to 17-3. Hanlon terminated the run for the Lakers by lining in a shot with 5:49 on the clock, Cortez (4:40) responded and Eva Henneman (Jr., Bend, Ore./Bend) (4:22) put another score away for Mercyhurst to make it an 18-5 contest.
The final two markers belonged to Harvard as O’Dea (4:07) and Ella Schneider (Jr., San Clemente, Calif./Santa Margarita) (2:25) drove home the final nails in a 20-5 win by the Crimson.
For Mercyhurst, Hanlon and Dombkowski slipped in pairs to accompany a solo strike by Henneman. Goalkeepers Marley Ramon (Sr., Albuquerque, N.M./Albuquerque) and Panna Mozbauer (Jr., Gyor, Hungary/Peterfy Sandor Lutheran) combined for 11 saves.
Across the tank, Heffelfinger (four), Greenwald (three), O’Dea (two), Cortez (two) and Gilbert (two) combined for 13 of Harvard’s goals, while the septet of Britt, Piovan, Schneider, Hodge, Berkman, Zapata and Del Villar hurled in the other seven tallies. Sutchie Ofori-Nyako (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif./Castilleja School) turned aside a pair of shots to pick up the win in cage.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Mercyhurst University (5-22 0-12 CWPA) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | – | 5 |
| No. 15 Harvard University (24-6, 10-2 CWPA) | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | – | 20 |
| Harvard Goals: | Heidi Heffelfinger (4); Kaity Greenwald (3); Maya O’Dea (2); Serafina Cortez (2); Emma Gilbert (2); Lucy Britt; Niki Piovan; Ella Schneider; Ruby Hodge; Lucy Berkman; Dany Zapata; Sofia Del Villar | |||||
| Mercyhurst Goals: | Marley Hanlon (2); Allie Dombkowski (2); Eva Henneman | |||||
| Saves: | Harvard – Sutchie Ofori-Nyako (2); ; Mercyhurst – Marley Ramon (10, 24 minutes), Panna Mozbauer (1, 8 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Harvard – 6 ; Mercyhurst – 4 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Harvard – 0-for-4 ; Mercyhurst – 0-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Harvard – 4-for-4 ; Mercyhurst – 0-for-4 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | None | |||||
| Officials: | Joe Peila, Mosaab Omar | |||||
Harvard University’s Dany Zapata (#10) defends Mercyhurst University’s Grace Tirak (#15)
Mercyhurst University’s Allie Dombkowski (#21) lines up a shot
Harvard University’s Niki Piovan (#20) & Mercyhurst University’s Gina Adiutori (#10)
