Women's Water Polo Set to Do Battle with Brown

Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot Photography.

The Particulars:
Harvard welcomes Brown in a Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Division match. The Crimson and Bears square off at 8 p.m. at Blodgett Pool. The game is Harvard’s first home contest since Feb. 7, when the team hosted the Harvard Invitational.

Last Time Out:
Harvard fell to No. 11 Hartwick, 15-8, in the first CWPA Northern Division match of the season. Sophomore Devan Kennifer lead all scorers with five goals while also drawing five kick outs. Roxanne Pinto, Shannon Purcell and Patricia Smith each netted a goal for the Crimson. Sophomore netminder Laurel McCarthy made six saves.

About Harvard:
The Crimson heads into CWPA Northern Division play after compiling an 11-9 record in the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Crimson is 0-1 in the CWPA Northern Division after dropping a 15-8 decision to No. 11 Hartwick. Devan Kennifer leads the team with 59 goals. Monica Zdrojewski is second on the squad with 36 tallies while Ita Barton-Kettleborough and Aisha Price have each buried 24 markers. Laurel McCarthy has turned aside 131 shots this season as Harvard owns a 10.00 goals-against-average

About Brown:
The Bears enter the match with an 18-11 overall record and a 0-1 mark in the conference. Brown is coming off of a trip to California where the team posted a 6-6 record. The Bears fell to three nationally-ranked teams, No. 1 Southern California, No. 14 San Diego State and No. 18 UC Davis. The Bears recently fell to No. 11 Hartwick, 11-6, to open Northern Division play. Seniors Sarah Glick and Lauren Presant lead the Brown offense. Presant has tallied a team-high 71 goals on the year while Glick has notched 68 scores.

What Happens If...
Harvard is 11-2 on the year when scoring 10 or more goals in a game. The Crimson has registered double-digits on the scoreboard in six of its last seven games. Harvard is also 8-1 this season when holding opponents to nine or less goals. The Crimson is 2-0 on the season in games decided in overtime, having defeated Wagner 10-8 at the Princeton Invitational, Feb. 20, and Bucknell 13-12 at the Elite Eight Invitational, Feb. 28.

Goals Galore:
Harvard is averaging 9.86 goals-per-game and has had 12 players notch goals this season. Eight players have scored 10 or more goals on the year. As a team, the Crimson has recorded an astonishing 27 hat tricks through the first 21 games of the season.

Good Ol’ Blodgett:
The Crimson returns home after playing the last 18 matches on the road.  Harvard owns a perfect 4-0 record at Blodgett Pool this season. The Crimson defeated Villanova, Siena, New York Athletic Club and Iona at the Harvard Invitational to start the season. The team will play three more contests at home this season.

Coming Up:
Harvard closes out the Northern Division slate at home as it hosts Hartwick, April 17, and Brown, April 18.