(09-03) Harvard

(09-03) Pacific

The Basics
• Score: #14 Harvard-18, #16 Johns Hopkins-14 • #4 Pacific-19, #16 Johns Hopkins-3
• Records: JHU (0-2), HU (2-0), UP (2-0)
• Location: Providence, RI • Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center
• The Short Story: The 16th-ranked Johns Hopkins water polo team faced a tough challenge on opening day, taking on 14th-ranked Harvard and fourth-ranked Pacific. The Blue Jays dropped a barn-burner to the Crimson, 18-14, before falling 19-3 to the Tigers.

How it Happened • Harvard
• In the opening game, Harvard scored the first two goals of the game and led 3-1 at the midway point. Hopkins then sandwiched man-up goals by senior Matt Fraser and sophomore Andreas Katsis to make it 4-3 at the end of the quarter.
• The second quarter started the same as the Crimson scored back-to-back goals to take a 6-3 lead. The Blue Jays came right back with strikes from freshman Finn Banks and sophomore Giorgio Cico, to cut the deficit to one. But Harvard answered with two goals in 78 seconds to go into the half with an 8-5 lead.
• The Crimson picked up where they left off, pushing out to a 13-5 lead halfway through the third quarter. Banks got his second goal of the day to temporarily end the Crimson run, but they answered with a pair of goals in just 46 seconds to take a 15-6 lead. The Blue Jays kept chipping away and closed the quarter with three straight goals to make it 15-9 at the break.
• The teams traded goals over the opening three minutes and it was 18-11 Harvard. Hopkins kept battling and scored the final three goals of the game to make it a four-goal game.

How it Happened • Pacific
• Hopkins faced another potent offense in game two in fourth-ranked Pacific. The Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game's 5:35 and didn't look back. They led 6-1 after the first quarter and 10-1 at the half.
• Pacific pushed its lead to 12-1 early in the third. Hopkins then sandwiched goals from freshman Andres White and sophomore Andreas Katsis around a strike by UP and it was 13-3 heading into the final quarter.
• The Tigers would account for all the scoring in the final stanza, outscoring the Blue Jays, 6-0.

What it Means
• Johns Hopkins is now 11-6 all-time against Harvard, as the Crimson beat the Blue Jays for the first time since September 9, 2012.
• Hopkins is now 0-2 versus Pacific as the two teams met for the first time since September 2, 2007.

Inside the Box Score
• Senior Matt Fraser and sophomore Giorgio Cico led the team with six points each, scoring three goals and adding three assists each. Fraser also had a team-high five ejections drawn, while Cico had a game-high six steals and three blocks.
• Freshman Andres White scored a pair of goals and grabbed four steals, while classmate Finn Banks totaled three goals and two assists. Banks scored three and assisted on another in his debut against Harvard. Sophomore Andreas Katsis scored a pair of goals and had four steals on the day.
• Junior John Wilson totaled 19 saves, four steals and two assists in seven quarters in the goal. Sophomore Spencer Witte made a pair of saves in one quarter of action on Saturday.

Up Next
• The schedule at the Bruno Classic doesn't get any easier for Hopkins on Sunday. JHU will take on host and 13th-ranked Brown at 9:00 am and then rival MIT, ranked seventh in DIII, at 2:50 pm.