DAVIS, Calif. — No. 18-ranked Harvard University men’s water polo lost to No. 6 the University of California-Davis by a 17-13 score to wrap up the Aggie Roundup at the Schaal Aquatics Center.
Harvard went down by as much as six in the third quarter at 12-6 before the offense closed the final difference to four goals.
First-year Clay Carrington (Menlo Park, Calif.) powered the Crimson attack with five goals, including a pair via penalty shots, to go with three assists. Senior Jack Burghardt (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) added a hat-trick of his own and classmate Jacob Tsotadze (Menlo Park, Calif.) contributed a back-to-back goals in the third quarter.
In net, first-year goalie Jonas Ransford (Newport Beach, Calif.) provided 10 saves and two steals.
The Aggies were led in scoring by Lucas Wulfhorst with seven goals. William McKeon started in goal and surrendered five goals with two saves, while Baxter Chelsom took over for the second half and gave up eight goals with four saves.
Trailing early in the game, Lukas Peabody scored with one second left on the clock in the first quarter to pull Harvard within 4-3 through eight minutes of competition.
Carrington netted his second goal of the day on a penalty shot to trim the deficit to two at 7-5 in the second quarter and inched the Crimson within 9-6 before the Aggies responded with a 3-0 third-quarter run. Tsotadze kept Harvard in the game with back-to-back goals late in the third quarter.
Harvard forced a quick turnover and broke out for a three-on-one opportunity finished by Burghardt to make it 13-11.
Following another UC-Davis strikes, Carrington converted a second penalty shot for his fifth of the game at 14-12 with just over two minutes remaining. However, the Aggies outlasted the Crimson for a four-score victory.
Information courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
