No. 18 Harvard University’s Hour Comes to Nix No. 9 University of Michigan’s Title Run as Crimson Punch Ticket to 2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I Championship Game with Last Second 9-8 Victory

No. 9 University of Michigan-vs.-No. 10 Harvard University Scoresheet (2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association Championship – Game #4)

PRINCETON, N.J — Brooke Hourigan (Sr., Newport Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran) of No. 18-ranked Harvard University earned redemption by heaving a last second desperation shot which found the back of the cage with one second left in the fourth quarter for the deciding blow as the Crimson shocked No. 9/defending Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Champion the University of Michigan, 9-8, in the semifinals of the 2023 CWPA Championship hosted at Princeton University’s DeNunzio Pool.

The victory places the Crimson (23-8, 5-5 CWPA) into the conference title game for the second consecutive year as Harvard will face fellow Ivy League institution/host/No. 10 Princeton University at Noon on Sunday, April 30, for the CWPA Championship and an automatic berth into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Water Polo Championship field.  Princeton stopped Saint Francis University by an 8-3 score in the earlier semifinal to punch the Tigers’ ticket into the title tilt.

Harvard is 0-2 against Princeton this year and 15-46 all-time as the Crimson fell 11-4 in regulation (February 25 at Princeton) and 12-10 in overtime (April 8 at Harvard) versus the Tigers.  However, history does not reflect potential as Michigan had previously topped Harvard 14-6 (April 1 at Harvard) and 15-8 (April 16 at Michigan) in the prior 2023 meetings between the pair of programs.

The title game berth marks the fifth in Harvard women’s water polo history as the team fell to Slippery Rock University in 1990, 1993 and 1995 before suffering a 10-4 setback in the 2022 CWPA Championship title game at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium. 

In the modern history of the championship since 2001, Harvard has finished eighth (2006, 2007, 2010), seventh (2001, 2002, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2018), sixth (2003, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016), fifth (2004, 2005), fourth (2017, 2019), third (2000) and second (2022).  The team did not compete in either the 2020 or 2021 CWPA Championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michigan (22-10, 9-1 CWPA) – which now stands at 52-12 all-time at the CWPA Championship, including a 45-12 mark since 2001 – sees its six-year (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) championship reign come to a close.  The last time Michigan lost a game at the CWPA Championship came on April 26, 2015, as the Maize & Blue fell to Hartwick College by an 11-10 score in overtime to finish in fourth place at a then 10-team CWPA Championship hosted by Princeton at DeNunzio Pool – a span of 2,925 days.  The Wolverines had fallen in the semifinals that year to Indiana University by a 9-8 score in overtime – a team Princeton went on to defeat 7-6 for its most recent league championship crown.

Eight years later in the same facility, it was again a one-goal contest that spelled doom for the Wolverines.

The Crimson jumped out to a dominating 3-0 lead in the third three minutes of the game as Grace Thawley (Sr., Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) (7:20) and Ruby Hodge (Fr, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) (5:57, 5:04) put away shots.  Michigan’s Kata Utassy (Jr., Budapest, Hungary/Konyves Kalman Secondary School) put the Wolverines on the scoreboard with three seconds left in the first quarter as Harvard exited the first eight minutes with a 3-1 lead.

Neither team could add to their total throughout the second quarter until Hourigan lined in a five-meter penalty shot with 35 seconds left in the first half to build the Crimson’s margin to 4-1.

Harvard seemed destined to run away with the contest as Dany Zapata (So., Cali, Colombia/Meriden School) (3:09), Thawley (2:43, penalty shot) and Borden Wahl (Sr., Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich Academy) (1:16) torqued in back-to-back-to-back tallies to commence the third quarter and put the Crimson comfortably ahead 7-1.

However, Michigan began a dramatic comeback as Utassy buried penalty shot (1:00) and even-strength (15 seconds) strikes to shrink the Wolverines’ deficit to 7-3 with eight minutes of regulation on tap.

Harvard appeared to foil the Maize & Blue’s comeback bid with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter as Thawley dented the twine to return the gap to 8-3.

The lead evaporated over the next four and a half minutes as Utassy swished natural (4:43) and penalty shot (4:04) chances to make it 8-5 prior to Ava Morrant (Gr, Maple Ridge, B.C./Maple Ridge Secondary School) (3:02) and Erin Neustrom (Gr., Moraga, Calif./Campolindo) (2:09, man-up) putting their team on the doorstep of a comeback at 8-7.

A penalty call on Hourigan with 57 seconds left on the clock provided Utassy the opportunity to tie the game and square Michigan with Harvard for the first time since before the 7:20 mark of the first quarter.  She did not fail to deliver by rifling a shot past Crimson netminder Zoe Banks (Sr., Palto Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn) to balance the scoreboard and put Harvard’s potential for victory in mortal jeopardy.

Neither team could solve the other’s defense until a turnover with 12 seconds gave Harvard a final chance at last second glory and back-to-back berths in the CWPA Championship title game.

Following a yellow/red card to Harvard head coach Ted Minnis for delay of game, the Crimson went on the attack and found Hourigan who buried the last second chance for the deciding blow.

Michigan attempted one final shot, but the ball fell in front of a Harvard wall in the goalmouth to prevent overtime and allow the Crimson another crack at Princeton.

Harvard – which improves to 3-19-1 all-time against Michigan with prior wins in 1989 (May 6, 12-7 W at Bucknell University) and 2000 (April 6, 9-8 W at Indiana University) along with a tie in 1990 (April 21, 7-7 T at Harvard) – received multi-goal games from Thawley (three), Hodge (two) and Hourigan (two) along with single tallies by Zapata and Wahl.  Banks made seven saves in the winning effort to stand as the first Crimson goalie to defeat the Wolverines in 8,423 days.

No matter the outcome against Princeton in the title game, Harvard is guaranteed to equal or best its all-time best finish at the CWPA Championship since National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Championship began as the team previously finished eighth (2006, 2007, 2010), seventh (2001, 2002, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2018), sixth (2003, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016), fifth (2004, 2005), fourth (2017, 2019), third (2000) and second (2022) at the event.

Utassy led the Michigan attack as junior accounted for six of the Wolverines’ eight goals.  Neustrom and Morrant chipped in single tallies and goalkeeper Alex Brown (Sr., Clayton, Calif./Carondelet) stopped nine shots in the loss.

The team will wrap-up its 2023 season at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 30, against Saint Francis in the third place game.  The Maize & Blue finished 2-0 against the Red Flash in 2023 with prior 22-6 (February 11 at Bucknell) and 19-5 (March 5 at Michigan) victories.

In the history of the CWPA Championship, Michigan has finished fifth (2001), first (2002, 7-6 W OT SD vs. Hartwick College at Princeton), third (2003), second (2004, 5-2 L vs. Hartwick at Bucknell), first (2005, 8-7 W at Indiana), second (2006, 11-8 L vs. Hartwick at Brown University), fourth (2007), first (2008, 10-7 W vs. Hartwick at home), first (2009, 12-6 W vs. Hartwick at Harvard), first (2010, 7-5 W vs. Indiana at University of Maryland), second (2011, 5-3 L at Indiana), third (2012), second (2013, 7-5 L vs. Princeton at home), third (2014), fourth (2015), first (2016, 9-2 W vs. Indiana at Harvard), first (2017, 5-4 W vs. Princeton at Indiana), first (2018, 11-8 W vs. Princeton at Bucknell), first (2019, 10-6 W vs. Princeton at Brown), first (2021, 12-5 W vs. Bucknell at home) and first (2022, 10-4 W vs. Harvard at Bucknell).