Water Polo Defeated by Brown and Harvard in NWPC Action

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The MIT water polo team played a tight contest against Brown on Saturday and held a second-half lead against Harvard on Sunday as the team played its first games of the season at the Zesiger Center Pool.

THE BASICS:

Scores:
- No. 19 Brown 15, MIT 12
- Harvard 21, MIT 13
Records: MIT (5-11 Overall, 1-4 NWPC), No. 19 Brown (14-4 Overall, 3-2 NWPC), Harvard (7-10 Overall, 4-1 NWPC)

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. BROWN:

Brown took a 5-2 lead after the first quarter of action with Caspar Lightner and Kunal Rajadhyax scoring for the Engineers.
Back-to-back goals from Andras Beleznay and Rick Lundh to open the second cut the Brown lead to one, but a three-goal run from Brown gave the Bears an 8-4 lead heading into the half.
Lundh and Beleznay opened the third with goals to get MIT to within two and after a goal from Ramzi Megalli, Lightner scored again to cut the Brown lead to 9-7. The Bears used a 3-0 run to build a 12-7 lead and a goal from Derek Schaffer on the counter with 1:30 left in the third made it 12-8 going into the fourth.
The Engineers looked to rally in the fourth, but Brown was able to hold on for the 15-12 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Six different Engineers scored, led by Beleznay with four goals. Lightner, Schaffer, and Lundh each had two.
William Ewald led the team with three steals and earned four exclusions.
Kieran Kearns added two assists and a goal.
Joshua Woren made six saves while Armaan Gill made two.

HOW IT HAPPENED vs. HARVARD:

Harvard jumped out to a 3-0 advantage before Lightner got MIT on the board at 4:29. The Crimson added another goal while Lundh scored with 10 seconds left to cut the Harvard lead in half.
After goals from Schaffer and Lightner got the teams even, Harvard quickly responded with two goals to regain the lead. Lundh and Lightner found the back of the net as Lightner's penalty shot got at 1:17 tied the match at six. Tyler Hogan scored on the counter with 27 seconds left to give Harvard a one-goal lead after two quarters of play.
A 3-0 run to open the third gave MIT its first lead of the day, but Harvard quickly scored twice to regain the lead. Lightner scored to make it 10-9 MIT at 3:15, but the Crimson went on a 4-1 run to end the period with a 13-11 lead.
Harvard put the match away in the fourth, outscoring MIT 8-2.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Lightner and Lundh led MIT with four goals each. Lightner has had seven matches this season with three or more goals. Lundh got his second four-goal match of the season.
Jake Schweizer and Schaffer added two goals each in the match.
Kearns dished out five assists and had two steals.

UP NEXT:

The Engineers return to the pool on Saturday, October 17 when they will take on Biola at 9:00 AM followed by a 1:30 PM match against UC Merced. Both matches will be played on the campus of Harvard University.

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