LEWISBURG, Pa – No. 17 Harvard women's water polo fell by a score of 10-4 at the hands of No. 7 Michigan (26-8, 12-0 CWPA) in the CWPA Championship game on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson concludes the season with a (23-7, 9-3 CWPA) overall record after reaching the CWPA Championship game for the first time in varsity program history.
The Wolverines got out to a quick start after converting a five-meter penalty just over a minute into the game before swiftly adding another score.
Erin Kim got the Crimson on the mark with 5:26 remaining in the first period, as Michigan would eventually answer the goal and shut down the Crimson for the remainder of the period. It was more of the same in the second period, with the Wolverines tabbing a pair of goals while Harvard struggled to find the back of the net, being denied by the post and crossbar on a handful of occasions. Michigan held a 5-1 advantage at the break.
Sasha Constandse got the scoring started in the second half with a beautiful lob shot to break the Harvard drought and make it a 5-2 contest. The Wolverines would find another 3-0 run to extend the lead to six goals, before
Evan Tingler netted a score with eight seconds remaining in the third period to make it an 8-3 game through three.
Zoe Banks found
Erin Kim for a transition score early on in the fourth, but Michigan would ultimately see out its multi-goal lead and advance to the NCAA Tournament with a 10-4 victory.
Harvard Highlights
- First-year Erin Kim scored a pair of goals while drawing three exclusions.
- First-year Sasha Constandse picked up a goal, assist, steal and two DKOs.
- Sophomore Annabel Facey collected three blocks to anchor the defense.
- Junior Evan Tingler netted a goal and added a steal.
Game Notes
- Harvard concludes the season posting 23 wins, the second-highest single season total In program history.
- Harvard suffers it seventh loss of the season, marking the lowest single season total in varsity program history (excluding the shortened 2020 season).
- The Crimson posted a 2-6 record when allowing double-digit goals this season.
