The men's water polo team took down Harvard, 10-8, in overtime Wednesday night. The Bears came into the game with three straight wins, a streak that began with the Bears' 14-6 victory over Harvard at the ECAC Championships.
The game started off rocky for Brown, as Harvard took an early 3-1 lead in the first quarter. The teams traded goals in the second quarter, bringing the score to 5-3 in favor of the Crimson. But the Bears were able to keep their composure in the second half, outscoring Harvard, 4-2.
Nico Fort '09 kicked things off for the Bears' offense in the second half with an early goal and the Bears' defense continued to shut down the Crimson offense. Another goal from the Bears with two minutes to play in the third quarter knotted the score at 5-5. Both teams managed to score two goals each in the fourth quarter. Harvard pulled ahead with a minute left to play, and Brown fired back to even the score at 7-7 with 40 seconds left to play in regulation.
In the first overtime period, the Bears drew an early ejection and found Mike Gartner '09 inside for a goal. Fort put another one away with 20 seconds left in the first overtime period to put the Bears up by two goals. In the second and final period of overtime, Harvard scored on a penalty shot to bring the Crimson within one goal of the Bears. But Brown fired back yet again with a counterattack pass to Gartner down the center of the pool. Gartner put the ball away with two men on his back, sealing a 10-8 victory for the Bears.
Gartner and Gordon Hood '11 led the Bears in scoring with three goals each, while Fort, captain Grant LeBeau '09 and Corey Schwartz '11 each tallied two goals apiece. Kent Holland '10 recorded six saves in the cage.
The victory improves Brown's record to 6-5 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Bears will have a week long break before hitting the road again to take on Fordham in Bronx, N.Y. on Oct. 10.
