CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's water polo remained perfect in NWPC play after earning two victories over Long Island University (LIU) and Iona today. The Crimson (19-9, 9-0 NWPC) won both bouts by ten or more goals, claiming a 22-9 win in the early game against LIU before downing the Iona Gaels, 18-8, in the evening contest.
Four different hat tricks in the early slate helped lead the Crimson to its ninth home win of the season. Scoring 20 or more goals for the third time this year, Harvard was led offensively by
Vilas Sogaard-Srikrishnan,
Dean Strauser, Jake Tsotadze, and
Jack Burghardt, as the group combined for 17 of the team's 22 goals.
Harvard jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the opening quarter before matching its production in the second to take a 14-5 advantage into halftime.
Vilas Sogaard-Srikrishnan had a career day, recording a hat trick and a career-high five assists for an eight-point performance.
Captain Jake Tsotadze and Cutino Award Watch List nominee
Jack Burghardt continued their strong starts with five goals apiece. Burghardt has now scored five goals in a game three times this season, while Tsotadze notched his second such performance.
In the night cap, Harvard continued to roll. After the teams split goals to open the game, Harvard went on a 7-2 scoring run to close out the first half. Six different players scored in the eight-goal first half to aid the effort.
Jack Burghardt went on a tear in the middle of the action, scoring Harvard's last two goals of the first half before completing his hat trick in the third quarter. Burghardt scored four consecutive goals for the Crimson and added two more later in the contest to boost the Crimson offense.
Emil Sogaard-Srikrishnan went on a strong run in the fourth quarter, scoring four goals to cap off a commanding 18-8 win for the Crimson.
GAME 1: HARVARD 22, LIU 9
GAME 2: HARVARD 18, IONA 8
NEXT UP
Harvard plays Princeton tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. to close the regular season.
