 |  |
Harvard Downs UC-Santa Cruz, Falls to No. 11 UC-Davis on California Trip
DAVIS, Calif. -- The Harvard
women's water polo team earned a split Thursday, topping UC Santa
Cruz, but falling later in the day to No. 11 UC Davis. With the win
and loss, the Crimson moves to 6-9 overall on the season and 2-3 on
its current West Coast trip.
Harvard opened with a 12-8 victory over UC Santa Cruz, led by a
six-goal effort by freshman Devan Kennifer. After
falling behind 3-1 in the first quarter, the Crimson went on a 4-0
run to grab a 5-3 lead. The Banana Slugs came back to tie the game,
but Harvard regained a lead in the third and never relinquished its
advantage.
"This was a strong team effort all the way around," said Harvard
head coach Erik Farrar.
In addition to her six goals, Kennifer made three steals and drew a
penalty. Fellow rookies Monica Zdrojewski and
Ita Barton-Kettleborough each tallied two scores,
with Zdrojewski also handing out an assist and Barton-Kettleborough
contributing a steal. Another freshman, Shannon
Purcell, had a goal and a steal, as well as a key field
block on a crucial Santa Cruz 6-on-5 opportunity in the fourth
quarter. Classmate Lizzie Abbott rounded out the
Crimson scorers, as she also found the back of the net one
time.
Freshman Laurel McCarthy played well in the cage,
stopping six shots for the victory.
In the night cap, Kennifer scored two more goals and Purcell added
a score, but the Crimson fell, 5-3, to the Aggies. Harvard trailed,
4-1, at the break, but scored twice in the second half to pull
within two scores.
Nicola Perlman
made seven saves in net for the Crimson, while Aggies' goalie
Diana Pivacek blocked away nine scoring
attempts.
The Crimson will close out its California trip Friday by visiting
Cal State Monterey Bay at 2 p.m. PST.
