CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The MIT water polo team cut a three-goal deficit down to one, but they could not pull ahead as the No. 19 Harvard Crimson defeated the Engineers by a score of 21-11 on Sunday afternoon at Blodgett Pool. 

THE BASICS: 

• Score: Harvard 21, MIT 11 
• Records: MIT (7-15 Overall, 1-6 NWPC), No.19 Harvard (13-12 Overall, 6-1 NWPC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Rick Lundh converted on a 5-meter goal at 7:28 to give MIT an early lead, but the Crimson scored four-straight goals to take a three-goal lead. Jake Schweizer scored on the 6-on-5 to stop the Harvard run at 1:01, but Felix Pal scored with 14 seconds left to give the hosts a 5-2 lead after one.  
• Andras Beleznay and Derek Schaffer opened the second with goals as Schaffer's score at 5:52 cut the Harvard advantage to one. Jack Burghardt scored to put the Crimson back up two, but Luca Morocco found William Ewald for the goal at 4:33. Harvard put up two more scored before another goal from Lundh with 17 seconds left sent the teams into the break with the Crimson holding a three-goal lead. 
• The teams exchanged scored to open the third. Charlie Baker scored to cut the Harvard lead to 12-9, but from there the Crimson outscored MIT 9-2 to secure the win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Lundh recorded his fifth hat trick of the season and now has 34 goals. He also had one assist and two steals. 
• Beleznay scored twice to bring his season total to 43. Nicholas Soule finished with a goal and two steals. 
• Kunal Rajadhyax, and Schaffer led MIT with two assists each. 

UP NEXT: 

• MIT returns home as they will welcome LIU and Princeton to the Zesiger Center Pool on Saturday, November 7. The Engineers will play LIU at 9:00 AM followed by a 7:00 PM match against the Tigers.   

STAY CONNECTED: 

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