CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 22 Harvard women's water polo won a pair of games at Blodgett Pool to close out the Bruno Classic and extend its winning streak to three games. The Crimson took down Pomona-Pitzer (2-6), 17-4, before topping RV La Salle (3-6), 15-5. Harvard improves to 5-1 on the season and comes away with a 3-1 showing at the Bruno Classic.
 
Game 1: Harvard 17, Pomona-Pitzer 4
Harvard welcomed Pomona-Pitzer to Blodgett Pool for the first time since 2007, and Grace Thawley promptly greeted them with a goal on the first possession of the game. The Crimson would jump out to a 4-1 lead with another goal from Thawley and a pair of five-meter shots converted by Brooke Hourigan and Erin Kim. The Sagehens would have their best spell of the game at the end of the first, cutting the lead to 4-3, and having a golden opportunity to tie the game on a breakaway, only to be denied by Alexis Kieckhafer in goal. Beginning with that save, Kieckhafer refused to be beaten, stopping nine of the final 10 shots that she faced. Harvard took a 7-3 lead into the half following second period goals from Hourigan, Thawley and Borden Wahl.
 
Thawley once again opened the scoring in the second half, a goal that was answered by the Sagehens to make it an 8-4 game. The Crimson would go on to shutout Pomona-Pitzer for the final 13:16 of the game and beginning with an Inde Halligan goal with 2:52 left in the third, end the game on a 9-0 spurt. Harvard enjoyed itself in the fourth period, netting seven goals including three from Annabel Facey and two from Erin Kim. The Sagehens would get a five-meter shot opportunity in the closing minutes, only for Kieckhafer to add another save to her ledger and secure the 17-4 victory.
 
Harvard Highlights Game 1

• Sophomore Annabel Facey and junior Grace Thawley led the Harvard attack with four goals each.
• Junior Borden Wahl filled the stat sheet with two goals, an assist and two steals.
• Sophomore goalie Alexis Kieckhafer made ten saves in net, including a five-meter shot, while allowing only four goals (.714 SV%).
• Sophomore Brooke Hourigan and first-year Erin Kim each netted three goals in the victory. 

Game 2: Harvard 15, La Salle 5
Continuing its pestering defense from the end of game one, Harvard took an early 2-1 lead through Ella Prentice and Brooke Hourigan and never looked back. Zoe Banks got the nod in goal, making her presence known by stopping six of the seven shots that she faced in the first half. Dany Zapata netted her second goal of the game with just under 30 seconds left in the half, and Harvard took a 6-1 lead into the break, with goals also coming from Sasha Constandse and Grace Thawley.
 
Thawley and Hourigan came out firing and scoring within the first minute of the second half, followed by goals from Borden Wahl and Josie Mobley. Evan Tingler converted a five-meter shot with one second remaining in the third, as Harvard held a comfortable 12-4 lead going into the final eight minutes. Kaity Greenwald would net back-to-back goals to start the fourth, before both offenses would go stagnant for a five-minute stretch. Seeing out its third-straight victory, Harvard made it 15-5 through Annabel Facey, and walked away with a second-straight dominating win at home.

Harvard Highlights Game 2

• Junior Grace Thawley added three goals while drawing three exclusions.
• Junior goalie Zoe Banks made nine saves in net on 14 shots faced (.643 SV%).
• Sophomore Brooke Hourigan scored a pair of goals, registered two assists, and came up with two steals. Junior Evan Tingler joined Hourigan in filling all three categories (1 goal, 2 assists, 1 steal).

Game Notes

• Harvard improves to 5-1 on the season, giving the Crimson the same record through six games as it had in 2020. Both defeats were at the hands of Wagner.
• The Crimson has outscored its opponents 87-40 to start the season (scoring 14.5 per game, allowing 6.7 per game).
• Harvard saw all three of its goalies pick up wins as part of its current three-game winning streak (Anne-Charlotte Gillard vs. Cal Baptist, Alexis Kieckhafer vs. Pomona-Pitzer, Zoe Banks vs. La Salle).
• The Crimson extends its winning streak against Pomona-Pitzer to three games (2014, 2018). 

What's Next? 
Harvard will travel to Princeton, N.J., next weekend, Feb. 12-13, to compete in the Princeton Invitational. The Crimson opens with contests against Villanova (1:30 p.m.) and St. Francis Brooklyn (5:15 p.m.) on Saturday, before a doubleheader with No. 17 LIU and VMI on Sunday, with the latter two matchups set for 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.