In a difficult matchup at Canyonview Aquatic Center, UC San Diego women’s water polo (10-11, 2-4 Big West) fell 12-6 to Harvard (23-2, 4-1 CWPA) to open the 2026 Aztec Invite on March 14. Despite a competitive first half, the Tritons were unable to keep pace with Harvard’s offensive surge in the final two quarters.
The opening quarter proved to be a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to find an early rhythm. Harvard struck first, scoring the lone goal of the quarter three minutes in. Despite several promising possessions, the Tritons were unable to respond, heading into the second quarter trailing 1-0.
Harvard quickly built on its lead in the second period, opening with a pair of goals to go up 3-0. Though the Tritons found the back of the net halfway through the quarter with a goal from junior attacker Abigail Schechter, the Crimson continued their offensive pressure, extending their lead to 5-1. However, Schechter found her way onto the scoreboard once more in the closing seconds of the half, converting with just 10 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 5-2 at halftime.
The third quarter scoreboard lit up seconds after the sprint as Harvard opened the scoring early in the period with another goal. However, following several stellar defensive steals and high-quality saves from senior goalkeeper Bria Zwaschka, the Tritons responded with back-to-back goals from junior attacker Emily Cloherty, bringing UCSD within the Crimson’s reach at 6-4.
However, this momentum was short-lived, as Harvard quickly regained control to bring its lead back to four. Although senior utility player Cascade Stensland found the net with a minute left to play, Harvard closed the quarter on a dominant run. Harvard freshman attacker Beatrice Hearey completed her hat trick, and the Crimson added another in the final seconds, giving Harvard a commanding 10-5 advantage heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, sophomore defender Niki Piovan joined Hearey, completing a hat trick of her own to seal Harvard’s commanding 12-6 victory.
“If we want to win games like this, we have to be tough mentally and physically,” head coach Sarah Lizotte said to The UCSD Guardian in a postgame interview. “So, moving forward, we need to find out what that looks like for this team in particular.”
The Tritons went on to win their next two games of the tournament against No. 9 Indiana and No. 18 San Jose State. UCSD will face hometown rival San Diego State in the annual Harper Cup at Aztec Aquaplex on Thursday before playing UC Santa Barbara for its final Big West regular-season game on Saturday in Goleta.
