HARVARD UNIVERSITY STUNS NO. 3 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

DAVIS, Calif.-  The No. 9-ranked Harvard University men’s water polo team made program history, beating the highest ranked opponent in the history of the program in taking out No. 3 University of California, 15-14, in sudden death at the 2018 University of California-Davis Aggie Roundup.  The Crimson was able to successfully rebound after a narrow 10-9 loss to the host/No. 8 Aggies in the morning matchup.

Game two on the day between No. 9 Harvard and No. 3 California began defensive-based, leaving the first quarter tied at two and tied at six at the half. It wasn’t until the third quarter that California took the lead with a trio of goals from Jordan Hoover, Joe Molina and Vassilis Tzavaras. The Crimson responded with goals from Charlie Owens and Bennie Seyboldto cut the deficit to one (9-8) heading into the final quarter of play.

In the fourth quarter, both teams were able to net a goal, with strong showings from the respective defenses. With seven seconds left in regulation, Austin Sechrest fired a shot past the goalkeeper to tie the game at 12-12 and send the contest to overtime. The teams tied the score twice before a second overtime period was forced with the score locked at 14-all.

After two tense overtime periods, the game went into sudden death/victory, where the Crimson ultimately bested No. 3 California with a goal from Sechrest off a pass from Dennis Blyashov with 43 seconds left on the clock.

Head Coach Ted Minnis loved the resilience his team presented throughout the game, “I thought our defense was good. We got into out zones really well and neutralized the center positions better than we have all season.”

The Crimson began the day with a tough rematch against No. 8 UC-Davis in taking a one-goal loss.

During the first half of play, Blyashov put the first three Crimson goals in net, two of which came in the opening minutes. UC-Davis responded with goals from Colter Knight, Riley Vene and Kyle Reilly to tie the game up at three with a little more than five minutes remaining in the second quarter. Back-to-back goals from  Owens and Michael Sonsini closed out the half and put the Crimson back in the lead at 5-3.

UC Davis began the action during the second half with a goal from Eric Martel, followed 18 seconds later by a six-on-five tally by Nathan Ondracek. The back-and-forth scoring continued until the Aggies strung together two goals to tie the game at seven.

The teams entered the fourth quarter with eight goals apiece. Unfortunately, the Crimson struggled to find holes in the Aggies’ defense, adding only one additional goal compared to UC-Davis pair.  The loss evens the all-time series at 6-6 between the two programs.

Overall, Sechrest tallied a total of six goals on the day, four of which came in the game against California, including the game-winner.

Anthony Ridgley put together a season-high 16 saves against California, while Noah Hodge tallied 11 saves against UC-Davis.

Release courtesy Harvard University Athletics Communications