No. 19 Men's Water Polo Downs No. 11 UC Davis, Fresno Pacific
Colton wrapped up the Rodeo Tournament with six goals, five assists and five steals as the Crimson went 2-0 on day three. (Photo Courtesy: Gil Talbot)
Santa Clara, Calif. – The 19th-ranked Harvard men's water polo team took to the pool on day three of the Rodeo Tournament in style, knocking off No. 11 UC Davis, 14-11, before edging Fresno Pacific, 7-6, on Sunday.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first game, Blake Lee got the Crimson on the board at the 3:29 mark, but the Aggies pulled away, winning the frame, 4-2. Harvard rallied with tight, 4-3 decisions in the second and third games, however. After some back-and-forth play to start the second stanza, the Crimson used a pair of scores from Roller and one each from Noah Harrison and Robbie Fluegge to claw its way back.
In the third game against Davis, Lee and John Holland-McCowan earned back-to-back goals to give Harvard the overall lead at 10-9. The Aggies would net goals to eventually tie the contest at 11-11 as the fourth game rolled around, but Colton's two tallies, along with two more from Harrison, along with stingy defense from Harvard, gave the Crimson the fourth game, 4-1, and the overall win, 14-11, over the 11th-ranked team in the country.
In the afternoon cap, the Crimson started much stronger against Fresno Pacific, jumping out to a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Lee, Ben Zepfel and Joey Colton. After Harvard secured the first game, 4-1, Colton tallied game two's only strike to give the dark caps a 1-0 game win and a 5-1 advantage.
The Sunbirds rallied in the third game, however. FPU racked up a 4-2 win, even after Fluegge gave Harvard a 1-0 lead early. Colton made sure Harvard came away with its seventh point in the last three minutes of the third, which proved drastic.
The Sunbirds claimed game No. 4 with a lone tally at the 2:30 mark to bring Fresno Pacific within one at 7-6. But the Crimson held on to win by the same margin to improve to 2-0 on the final day of the Rodeo Tournament.
The Crimson wraps up the regular season next weekend, hosting St. Francis (N.Y.) and Iona at noon and 5p.m., respectively, on Nov. 2 and Fordham at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 3.
Harvard 14, UC Davis 11
Goals
Harrison, 4
Lee, 3
Colton, 3
Roller
Fluegge
Zepfel
Holland
Assists
Roller, 2
Colton, 2
Fluegge
Lee
Murphy
Steals
Harrison, 2
Colton, 2
Roller
Fluegge
Stevens
Lee
Saves
Woolway, 5
Harvard 7, Fresno Pacific 6
Goals
Colton, 3
Zepfel, 2
Lee
Harrison
Assists
Colton, 3
Wrobel
Steals
Colton, 3
Fluegge, 2
Stevens, 2
Harrison, 2
Roller
Wrobel
Murphy
Saves
Field, 7
Woolway, 2
