CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - No. 13 women's water polo swept the Harvard Invite to improve to 16-1 on the year after a pair of wins on Saturday and two more on Sunday.

Defeating Villanova by a score of 19-7 on Saturday morning before a 22-5 win over UC Merced to close the day, it marks the second time this season the Crimson has scored twenty or more goals.

In the early game against the Wildcats, big second and third quarters pushed the Crimson to its first win of the weekend. Tied at four apiece after the first quarter of play, Harvard went on to score 11 of the next 14 goals to take a commanding lead. Emma Gilbert and Maya O'Dea led the way for the Crimson, combining for 11 goals on the day.

The Crimson controlled play against UC Merced after a 10-goal first quarter, with seven different players finding the back of the net in the first eight minutes of action. Adding another seven in the second, the Crimson led 17-2 at the half. By the end of the game, 12 different players had scored in the 22-goal outburst. Petra Klemm led the way for the Crimson with five goals on the day. 

Harvard followed that up with a big win over No. 14 Princeton to start the Senior Day festivities, beating its archrival 8-5 to improve to 4-1 in conference play. Harvard closed the day with a 14-8 win over Marist.

Against the Tigers, Harvard jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter after goals from Maya O'Dea, Petra Klemm, and Emma Gilbert. The Crimson followed that up with another three goals in the second, as O'Dea completed her first-half hat trick with two more goals while Lucy Berkman added the other. Petra Klemm and Niki Piovan added the daggers for the Crimson as it picked up a huge conference win against a division rival.

In the final game of the weekend, the Crimson controlled play once again, turning a 6-2 lead into a 9-3 advantage by halftime, with eight different players scoring in the game. Over four games this weekend, the Crimson averaged 15 goals per game and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 61-25.

HARVARD 19, VILLANOVA 7

• Maya O'Dea finished the game with four goals and four assists for a total of eight points.
• Sofia Wang and Ella Schneider each added a goal and an assist.
• Lily Britt added two helpers.
• Petra Klemm scored twice in the win.
• Emma Gilbert finished the game with six goals and one assist.
• Lucy Levenberg-Penklis added three goals and two assists.
• Orli Cooper made eight saves, while Sutchie Ofori Nyako came into the game late in the fourth quarter, making three stops and adding an assist.

HARVARD 22, UC MERCED 7

• Lucy Berkman finished with two goals and three assists.
• Lucy Levenberg-Penklis and Heidi Heffelfinger each added two goals and two assists.
• Serafina Cortez finished the game with four assists and a goal.
• Ella Schneider, Sofia Wang, Lily Britt, Sofia Del Villar, and Emma Gilbert all scored once.
• Maya O'Dea capped off the day with three goals and two assists for a total of 15 points on the day.
• Niki Piovan found the back of the net twice.

HARVARD 8, PRINCETON 5

• Lucy Berkman scored once.
• Maya O'Dea added a hat trick.
• Petra Klemm scored twice.
• Emma Gilbert and Niki Piovan each scored once.

HARVARD 14, MARIST 8

• Heidi Heffelfinger added one goal and three assists.
• Ella Schneider and Sofia Del Villar each added a goal and two helpers.
• Niki Piovan scored four goals.
• Emma Gilbert added three goals.
• Maya O'Dea found the back of the net twice and added an assist.
• Beatrice Hearey added two points with a goal and an assist.

NEXT UP
Harvard plays its final home games of the regular season this weekend at Blodgett.