LA JOLLA, Calif. – No. 9-ranked and No. 7-seed Harvard University women’s water polo was eliminated at the 2026 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship in the quarterfinals by No. 2/No. 3-seed the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), 15-5, at the University of California-San Diego’s Canyonview Aquatic Center. The Crimson end the season at 26-4 overall in their second overall and second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance as winners of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship.
UCLA (21-4) was led by four goals from Taylor Smith. Emma Lineback totaled six points on three goals and three assists, while Bia Mantelatto contributed two goals and an assist.
For Harvard (26-4), Heidi Heffelfinger tallied three points on seven shots with two goals and an assist in the final game of her career. Junior Maya O’Dea added a goal and three assists.
The play in the cage dictated the pace early as sophomore Orli Cooper was up to the task against the Bruins’ attack. However, it was UCLA’s Lauren Steele that was nearly unbeatable throughout that match.
Playing outdoors under clear skies on a 68 degree evening, the action started with Cooper stopping the first two shots she faced before Emma Lineback broke the ice with the first goal of the game.
Heffelfinger blasted the first Harvard goal into the cage off the keeper to cut it to 2-1.
The Bruins answered before Heffelfinger responded at the horn by going cross-cage for a seven-on-six goal to cut it to 4-2 before the end of the first quarter.
The first power play chance of the game came early in the second for the Crimson, but UCLA turned away the Harvard attempt. A second power play moments later resulted in a skip shot goal for O’Dea, playing against her sister Katherine O’Dea of UCLA, to cut the deficit to 5-3.
UCLA answered with a six-on-five goal just 25 seconds later to ignite a 5-0 Bruin run that extended beyond the intermission.
Niki Piovan ripped a 10-meter shot to end the UCLA run and make it 10-4 in the third quarter.
Lucy Levenberg-Penklis got on the score sheet before the buzzer at the end of the third quarter to make it 12-5.
The Bruins capped off the victory by outscoring the Crimson 3-0 in the fourth quarter.
Cooper finished the game with six saves and 15 goals allowed in 30:11, while Sutchie Ofori-Nyako (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif./Castilleja School) turned aside two shots in 1:49.
Steele made six saves with five goals allowed prior to Joey Niz turning aside eight shots in the fourth quarter.
Information courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications
