CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The MIT water polo team stayed close to No. 16 Harvard, however, the Engineers could not overtake the Crimson as the visitors edged out the Engineers by a 19-14 score on Saturday morning in the Zesiger Center Pool.
 
THE BASICS:

• Scores: No. 16 Harvard 19, MIT 14
• Records: MIT (6-12 Overall, 0-6 NWPC), Harvard (17-6, 6-0 NWPC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The cross-river rivals traded goals early in the first quarter. Harvard scored with 31 seconds left to take a 6-3 lead, but first year Derek Schaffer (Redondo Beach, Calif.) scored with 14 seconds left to make it a 6-4 game.
• Harvard scored the first two goals of the second quarter, but Schaffer scored his second of the day at 5:58 to bring the Engineers to within 8-5. Schaffer completed the hat trick with his goal at 1:30 to make it an 11-7 match. Sophomores Rick Lundh (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) and Kunal Rajadhyax (Vernon Hills, Ill.) scored back-to-back goals to pull MIT to within 12-9, but the Crimson scored with five seconds left to take a 13-9 lead into the half.
• Junior Adam Ivatorov (Rockaway, N.Y.) got MIT to within four with a score at 5:58 in the third as his second goal of the game made it 14-10. Harvard scored the next three goals to pull ahead by seven before a goal from first year Avi Narula (Atlanta, Ga.) stopped the run at 2:27. Ivatorov notched a hat trick with his score with 54 seconds left to make it 17-12 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
• Sophomore Kieran Kearns (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) found the back of the net to get MIT to within four, but the Crimson held on for the 19-14 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ivatorov, Lundh, and Schaffer all recorded hat tricks. Ivatorov leads the Engineers with 62 goals while Lundh is second with 42. Schaffer recorded his first collegiate hat trick.
• Ivatorov also led the team with three earned ejections.
• Lundh led MIT with four assists and Schaffer and Rajadhyax dished out three each.
• First year Armaan Gill (Long Grove, Ill.) made six saves in goal.

UP NEXT:

• MIT and Harvard both head to Providence, RI to take on Brown tomorrow, Sunday, November 3. The Crimson will play the Bears at 11:00 AM with the Engineers playing Brown at 3:00 PM.

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