Harvard Clamps Down on Crespi, 8-6 : Water polo: Saracens switch defenses and rally from 3-0 deficit to hand Celts their first loss after 11 victories.

One of two referees scheduled to officiate the water polo match between Crespi and Harvard highs on Tuesday failed to show for the Saracens’ 8-6 victory at Harvard. For part of the first quarter, it looked as if the Saracens were missing as well.

Crespi, ranked fifth in the Southern Section 3-A Division, took an early 3-0 lead in the San Fernando Valley League opener. But the Saracens switched from a man-to-man to a zone defense, made a few substitutions and reverted to form. Harvard (11-2), ranked fourth in the 3-A Division, scored three goals late in the first quarter, shut out the Celts (11-1) in the second and third quarters and held off a late charge.

“We came out slow, but we just needed to change defenses,” Harvard Coach Rich Corso said. “We didn’t need to make an adjustment on offense; the defensive changes were what changed the game.”

Harvard senior John Krawetz, coming off the bench, scored the first goal of the comeback with 1 minute 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

“We were disappointed about the beginning,” Krawetz said. “I was able to drive up and get free. At that point, we still had enthusiasm for the match, but we needed something to get us going.”

A minute later, Harvard’s star sophomore, Jim Toring, scored and sophomore Ryan Salceda added the tying goal with nine seconds left in the quarter. The offensive explosion came after Corso switched out of a zone defense to a physical man-to-man defense.

The defense neutralized Crespi’s big guns, Jean Michel and Vince Greco, and the rest of the Crespi team for two quarters. Some Crespi players felt that the change was effective because there was only one official.

“There was a lot of tension between the players,” said Greco. “Having only two eyes, you can’t see everything. It would have been nice to have the second ref. If there were two refs, the match would have been under control.”

Toring put Harvard ahead to start the second quarter, but the Celts shut out Harvard’s star scorer the rest of the game.

“We held Toring to two goals. Most of the time he is scoring five,” said Crespi Coach Jeff Thornton.

While Toring struggled, Krawetz added his second goal, Salceda scored twice more, and Matt DeFronzo scored once.

“Crespi marked our big guys,” Salceda said. “It was up to the rest of the four starters and the bench to do the job. We did.”

With Crespi trailing, 7-3, in the fourth quarter, Greco tried to lead the Celts back, scoring twice in the final three minutes with goalie Tim Behrens also scoring.