On Sunday, No. 14 Harvard men's water polo split its final two games of the Aggie round up by defeating No. 12 UC Irvine 18-17 in overtime. Earlier in the day, the Crimson fell to No. 5 University of the Pacific 14-11. 
 
James Rozolis-Hill recorded a hat trick, while Alex Tsotadze and Owen Hale both scored twice against the University of the Pacific. In the second game, Alex Bucur tallied four goals while James Rozolis-Hill scored the decisive goal on a penalty shot with just 17 seconds left in overtime to beat UC Irvine. 

Weekend Highlights

In an action-packed weekend, leading goal scorer James Rozolis-Hill tallied 16 goals over four games. Kaleb Archer found the back of the net 11 times. Owen Hale scored eight times, while Gabe Putnam scored seven times including a highlight reel goal against UCLA. Alex Tsotadze found the back of the net six times and Alex Bucur scored five times, as both players scored clutch goals over the weekend.

Game 1: No. 14 Harvard 11, No. 5 University of the Pacific 15

Harvard Highlights

• Noah Hodge was spectacular all game as he made eight saves. 
• James Rozolis-Hill recorded another hat trick. He now has six hat tricks in seven games.
• Owen Hale scored once and registered two assists. 
• Mot Stothart scored for the second consecutive game. 
• Michael Sonsini had another impressive game at the Aggie Round Up as he tallied a goal and three assists.
• Alex Tsotadze was all over the scoresheet with two goals, two assists, and two penalties drawn. 
• Colin Le scored his second goal of the season. 
• Kaleb Archer tallied another two goals. 
• Alexandru Bucur set up two goals in the game. 

How it Happened

• Pacific led 3-2 after the first quarter. 
• Michael Sonsini scored to tie the game at five midway through the second quarter. 
• Both teams scored three times in the second quarter. 
• Pacific outscored the Crimson 4-2 in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 10-7. 
• Stothart, Rozolis-Hill, Tsotadze, and Le scored in the fourth quarter.   

Game 2: No. 14 Harvard 18, No. 12 UC Irvine 12 

Harvard Highlights

• James Rozolis- Hill scored five goals, including the game winner in overtime. 
• Alexandru Bucur had his first multi-goal game of the season as he tallied four goals.
• Kaleb Archer recorded a hat trick in the win. 
• Gabe Putnam and Owen Hale both scored twice. 
• Michael Sonsini had a great game as he set up six goals.
• Noah Hodge made 9 saves in the victory. 

How it Happened

• UC Irvine led 5-4 at the end of the first quarter.
• Harvard outscored UCI 6-5 in the second quarter. 
• Alexandru Bucur scored three consecutive goals late in the second quarter to shrink the UCI lead to two heading into half. 
• Harvard outscored UCI 4-1 in the final frame to push the game to overtime as Archer, Tostadze, Rozolis-Hill, and Hale all scored. 
• Owen Hale and James Rozolis-Hill scored in overtime to lead the Crimson to victory. 

Next Up 

After returning from California, the Crimson travels to New York and New Jersey to start NWPC play with three games over Oct. 1 and 2. Harvard plays Iona College on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. before traveling to Brooklyn for a matchup against rival No. 19 St. Francis College at 5:00 p.m. Harvard then plays No. 11 Princeton at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to wrap up their road trip.