CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The No. 19-ranked Harvard University men’s water polo team matched its season-high in scoring by downing the visiting Engineers of Division III No. 8 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 21-11, in a Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) contest at Blodgett Pool. The win moved the Crimson over .500 at 13-12 overall and 6-1 in conference play.
The Engineers (7-15, 1-6 NWPC) hung around for the first half and into the third quarter; trailing by three at the first two intermissions. Harvard overwhelmed MIT in the fourth quarter; stretching a 15-10 lead by outscoring the visitors 6-1 in the final frame. Harvard’s 21 goals matched its season-high previously set at MIT last month.
Senior Jack Burghardt (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) led all players in scoring with seven goals. Junior Lukas Peabody (San Diego, Calif.) and first-year Clay Carrington (Menlo Park, Calif.) both contributed hat-tricks. In the cage, senior Vilas Sogaard-Srikrishnan (Greenwich, Conn.) made seven saves, including one on a penalty shot.
MIT scored the first goal of the game before Harvard responded with a 4-0 run, including two goals from Peabody; the second of which was tapped in on a lob pass to the middle.
The Crimson led the rest of the way with the Engineers once pulling within one at 5-4 after scoring the first two goals of the second quarter.
Burghardt registered three goals in the second and added back-to-back goals in the third as Harvard began to pull away.
A total of nine different players scored for the Crimson, including two goals from Felix Pal.
Release courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
