March 3, 2018
Cambridge, Mass.----- San Jose State University defeated Brown, 10-8, and lost to Harvard, 7-6, in first-day action at the Harvard Invitational women's water polo tournament at Blodgett Pool.
"In general, our defense was good and continues to improve," said San Jose State head coach Gabor Sarusi. In the Spartans last five matches, they allowed 40 goals, an average of 8.00 per contest.
The #18-ranked Spartans (4-10) had eight players score with Jacqui Maisey and Klaudia Paradi leading the way with two each in the victory over Brown (4-6). Tayler Peters played the entire match in goal for the Spartans and was credited with 10 saves.
"Our outside shooting was good vs. Brown, but we too many turnovers, too many bad passses in the last three minutes against Harvard," added the San Jose State head coach
In its afternoon match vs. #21-Harvard, San Jose State had three one-goal leads in the first three quarters. Vanessa Elgohary scored her second goal of the day with 0:18 seconds to go in the third quarter to tie the match at 5-5.
Harvard (6-3) scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter for a 7-5 lead. Kristen Hong of the Crimson, who led all players with three goals, converted a 5-meter penalty shot with 3:43 remaining for what turned out to be the decisive goal.
Caroline Kerwin drew the Spartans closer at 7-6 with 0:55 remaining taking advantage of a slow Harvard transition from offense to defense. Kerwin's show would turn out to be San Jose State's only shot of the fourth quarter due to eight turnovers.
The Spartans had a chance after Kerwin's goal to tie the match and send it into overtime. After a timeout with 0:20 to go, the Spartans attempted to pass the ball inside, but Harvard was able to come up with a steal and secure the victory.
San Jose State concludes play in the Harvard Invitational with matches against #22-Princeton at 8:00 a.m. (ET)/5:00 a.m. (PT) and #15-Wagner at 1:20 p.m. (ET)/10:20 a.m. (PT). Both matches will be streamed live on the Ivy League Network.
Harvard Invitational women's water polo tournament
Murr Center Blodgett Pool, Cambridge, Mass.
March 3, 2018
| Match #1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Brown (4-6) 2-1-3-2=8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| San Jose State (4-9) 3-3-2-2=10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Goal scoring |
| Brown -- Jessica Hellman, 3; Carmen Rosas, 2; Carissa Perez, Lexi Atwell, Kaitlyn Cook, 1, each. |
| San Jose State -- Jacqui Maisey, Klaudia Paradi, 2, each; Vanessa Elgohary, Jordan Milich-Misikini, Caroline Kerwin, Lili Urvari, Natalie Hosmer, Catarina Villanueva, 1, each. |
| Goalkeeper saves |
| Brown -- Marisol Dakan, 6. |
| San Jose State -- Tayler Peters, 10. |
| Ejections |
| Brown -- 5. |
| San Jose State -- 12. |
| Match #4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| San Jose State (4-10) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Harvard (6-3) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Goal scoring |
| San Jose State -- Klaudia Paradi, Lili Urvari, Sheila Jensen, Guara Garcia Delgado, Vanessa Elgohary, Caroline Kerwin, 1 each. |
| Harvard -- Kristen Hong, 3; Quinne Pursell, 2; Mathilde Ribordy, Sami Strutner, 1, each. |
| Goalkeeper saves |
| San Jose State -- Katelynn Thompson, 5. |
| Harvard -- Cleo Harrington, 6. |
| Ejections |
| San Jose State -- 7 |
| Harvard - 5 |