Senior co-captain Bret Voith (above) had a strong day to lead the Crimson (photo courtesy of Gil Talbot).

PRINCETON, N.J. – Facing two nationally ranked teams Saturday, the Harvard men's water polo team saw marked improvement in their play but still fell in two close games at the Princeton Invitational. The Crimson lost, 15-12, to No. 17 Cal Baptist in its first game of the day and dropped a 14-9 contest to tournament host No. 18 Princeton.

Harvard (1-3) fell behind early against the No. 17 Lancers, going down 7-1 in the first five minutes, but the defense tightened up and Harvard made the score 7-4 at the end of the first period. Late in the second half, the Crimson had climbed all the way back to make the score 11-10 in favor of Cal Baptist, but the Lancers proved to be too much down the stretch, winning 15-12.

"We're getting better every game," said Harvard men's water polo coach Ted Minnis. "You can see them working hard and getting better."

The Crimson faced Ivy League rival Princeton in the Tigers' own pool for the nightcap. Harvard came out of the gate strong and took leads of 3-1 and 6-5 after the first period and at halftime, respectively. The third quarter was a different story, however, as Princeton went on a run to take a 10-7 lead and take the win, 14-9.

Co-captain senior Bret Voith had four goals, three assists and two steals to lead Harvard. Senior Jeff Lee chipped in five goals, an assist and a steal in two games.

The Harvard men's water polo teams enters the pool early Sunday morning to take on No. 13 Santa Clara at 9 a.m. before taking on George Washington at 3 p.m. to wrap up play at the Princeton Invitational.

vs. No. 17 Cal Baptist | vs. No. 18 Princeton