PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Women's water polo defeated the Princeton Tigers in overtime to win its first CWPA conference championship after a 10-8 victory on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson will now head to Indianapolis for the NCAA Tournament, which starts on May 9.
Picking up its second consecutive overtime win, the nationally ranked Crimson scored twice in the extra frame to clinch its first-ever CWPA Championship in its third trip over the last four seasons to the finals.
Ted Minnis, Orli Cooper, and Niki Piovan took home the major All-Tournament awards after Minnis was named Coach of the Tournament, Cooper was named the Most Valuable Player, and Piovan took home Rookie of the Tournament as the two first-years continue to add to their trophy case.
Maya O'Dea, Dany Zapata, and Orli Cooper landed on the First Team All-Tournament, while Emma Gilbert and Ruby Hodge took home Second Team honors.
The Crimson now looks ahead to the NCAA Tournament in two weeks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ruby Hodge opened the scoring after firing a rocket from distance to hand the Crimson a 1-0 lead after the first quarter ended up with neither team being able to find the back of the net. Cooper made two saves in the first eight minutes of action ahead of Hodge's go-ahead goal.
With the game tied at one, Niki Piovan jumped on the scoresheet after picking up a pass and picking the corner off a Princeton exclusion to once again give Harvard a one-goal lead. With the game tied again, Dany Zapata fired a shot through traffic for another Crimson lead.
The senior was stellar all tournament as she scored a big goal in overtime against Michigan in the semifinal.
The game was tied heading into halftime as Cooper added another three saves in the second quarter.
Niki Piovan and Maya O'Dea opened the third quarter with goals, but Princeton would respond each time as neither team was able to get any separation. Dany Zapata scored another clutch goal for the Crimson to open the fourth quarter after she out-muscled a defender off an Emma Gilbert pass to give Harvard a 7-6 lead.
Maya O'Dea gave Harvard its first two-goal lead of the evening after wiring a skip shot in the top corner, giving the Crimson an 8-6 lead with just over five minutes to go.
Princeton would go on to tie the game and force overtime, but Maya O'Dea would strike again and add another clutch goal for the Crimson. The O'Dea goal would prove to be the game-winning goal as Orli Cooper made multiple big stops in the extra frame.
Gallery: (4-27-2025) CWPA Championship Celebration
HARVARD HIGHLIGHTS
NEXT UP
The Crimson now looks ahead to the NCAA Tournament in two weeks.
