CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The MIT water polo team jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but No. 17 Harvard used a seven-goal run to pull ahead and staved off a late Engineer rally to take a 19-14 win at Blodgett Pool on Sunday afternoon. 
 
THE BASICS: 

• Scores: Harvard 19, MIT 14 
• Records: MIT (5-12, 1-4 NWPC), Harvard (10-6, 5-0 NWPC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• MIT jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first. Adam Ivatorov got the Engineers on the board at 7:09. After a Harvard goal, Derek Schaffer tallied his first of the game and Caspar Lightner scored twice to give MIT a three-goal lead. The Crimson scored the quarters' final two goals to pull to within one. 
• Jack Burghardt scored to tie the match, but Ivatorov scored quickly to regain the lead for MIT. The teams then went back-and-forth before the host scored two straight to head into the half with a 10-8 lead. 
• The Crimson continued their scoring from the second quarter, scoring the third quarters first five goals to pull ahead 14-8. Rick Lundh scored at 3:37 to stop the Harvard run. Late quarter goals from Andras Beleznay and William Ewald cut the Crimson lead down to 16-11 going into the fourth. 
• Back-to-back scores from Schaffer and Kunal Rajadhyax at 2:46 cut the MIT deficit to four, but Crimson were able to hold the Engineers scoreless the remainder of the quarter as they held on for the 19-14 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• MIT had eight different players find the back of the net, led by Schaffer with his first hattrick of the season. Schaffer also led the team with two steals and four asssits.  
• Lightner, Ivatorov, Rajadhyax and Lundh all scored twice. Ivatorov is now at 298 goals in his career and has scored 43 goals this season. Lightner leads the team with 45 goals while Lundh has 35.  
• Joshua Woren made four saves in the second half.  

UP NEXT: 

• The Engineers return to action for the Harvard Invitational on Saturday, October 18, where the Engineers will play Salem at 11:00 AM followed by a 4:00 PM match against Wagner. The Crimson will take on Wagner at 9:00 AM followed by a 6:00 PM contest against Salem on the 18th.  

STAY CONNECTED: 

• For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.