No. 7 Harvard women’s water polo team secured three victories out of four games during its first all-conference weekend of the season in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
On Saturday, Harvard achieved wins over Bucknell and Saint Francis, with a combined score of 31-11. The team beat Bucknell 14-8 in the morning, maintaining an 8-2 lead at halftime. Although Bucknell narrowed the gap to 11-7 in the third quarter, goals from Ella Schneider, Maya O’Dea, and Sofia Del Villar ensured Harvard’s win. Heidi Heffelfinger contributed a goal and three assists, while Maya O’Dea recorded a hat-trick. Orli Cooper made eight saves.
Later that day, Harvard defeated Saint Francis 17-3 after leading 9-1 at halftime. Lucy Levenberg-Penklis scored in each quarter and finished with four goals and three assists. Heidi Heffelfinger and Ella Schneider both had hat-tricks as well. Petra Klemm added two goals. Both Cooper and Sutchie Ofori-Nyako shared time as goalkeeper, combining for eight saves.
With these results, Harvard improved to an 11-0 record—the team’s best start in at least 22 years—heading into Sunday.
On Sunday morning, Harvard suffered its first loss of the season against No. 14 Michigan by a score of 14-13. Despite trailing throughout much of the game (5-1 after the first quarter, 9-3 at halftime, and 12-6 after the third), Harvard narrowed the deficit but could not complete the comeback. Maya O’Dea led with four goals; Lily Britt, Petra Klemm, and Heidi Heffelfinger each scored twice; Sofia Wang, Emma Gilbert, and Levenberg-Penklis also contributed goals. Emma Gilbert finished with four assists.
Harvard concluded the weekend with a decisive 16-6 victory over Mercyhurst.
