PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Harvard men's water polo team lost its conference opener to Princeton, 15-8, on the road Saturday afternoon. The loss dropped the Crimson 3-10 overall and 0-1 in the NWPC, while the No. 9 Tigers improved to 12-1 and 1-0.

It took several possessions for either offense to get into a rhythm and it was Princeton that struck first. Harvard pulled even at 2-2 on junior Dean Strauser's first goal of the game; a 5-meter penalty shot. Strauser, who led the Crimson in scoring, scored all three of his goals in the first half. His second and third goals of the game each came from distance with the third tying the game, 5-5.

From that point on, it was all Princeton. The Tigers scored twice before the break to take a 7-5 lead at halftime and their run continued to 6-0 as the deficit climbed to 11-5 for the Crimson before they scored again.

Harvard is back in action on Sunday with road games at LIU and Iona.

Goals: Strauser (3), Burghardt (2), Peabody (1), Slutzky (1), Tsotadze (1)