CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The No. 9-ranked Harvard University men’s water polo team defeated both No. 17 St. Francis College Brooklyn. 14-7, and Iona College, 16-7, in Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) action to remain undefeated at 24-0 on the season.
Leading the Crimson in scoring on the day was senior captain Charlie Owens and junior Jackson Enright who both tallied five goals. Sophomore Michael Sonsini recorded five assists over the two contests, while junior Bruno Snow and first-year Alexandru Bucur both had four. All three goalies on the Harvard roster saw action with sophomore Noah Hodge tallying 17 saves in the morning against St. Francis. Against Iona, first-year Nathan Wu had nine saves in three-and-a-half quarters of play before junior Oliver Oz took over for the rest of the fourth quarter.
In its first match of the day, the Crimson got out to an early 1-0 lead, with Snow scoring 32 seconds into the first quarter. St. Francis (N.Y.) would tally two-straight to take the 3-2 lead before senior captain Austin Sechrest found the back of the net with 2:28 remaining to tie the match up at three heading into the second. The first multiple-goal lead in the contest came in the second quarter with Harvard scoring three-straight to take the 8-5 lead. Hodge held the Terriers scoreless in the third to help the Crimson nearly double its lead to 11-6. Harvard sealed the victory with a three-goal run in the fourth quarter.
Harvard continued its momentum in the late-night match against Iona, scoring first in every quarter of play. In the first quarter with the match tied up at one-all, the Crimson went on a three-goal run to take the 4-1 lead into the second. Harvard tallied three-straight again in the second quarter and Wu held the Gaels to only one goal to increase the lead to 7-2. To start the third quarter, the Crimson again scored three-straight to take the 10-2 lead and solidify the victory.
Release courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
