Two Titles and Counting

When Ella Schneider ’26 scored in the fourth sudden-death period to give Harvard an 8-7 win over Princeton in the 2026 CWPA Championship, the Crimson became the first program in school history to win back-to-back conference titles. The game had taken four quarters, two overtime periods, and four sudden-death frames to decide. Under head coach Ted Minnis for the past 16 years, this has been the type of match-up that the Harvard team consistently excels at.

Senior utility player Heidi Heffelfinger ’26 had a front-row seat all four years to the development of our repeat champion program and finished her collegiate tenure at the center of it. In the semifinal against Brown, Heffelfinger tied the game at eight with the clock nearly expiring in the first overtime period, sparking a second overtime run that gave Harvard an 11-8 victory. She tallied two goals and an assist in her final game at the NCAA Tournament, a 15-5 quarterfinal loss to UCLA. The season ended at 26-4, a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and a program that looks nothing like what it was a few years ago.

For Heffelfinger, the answer to the team’s success is simple. “I honestly think it’s all about team chemistry, mindset, and hard work, just a combination of those,” she said to the “Harvard Independent.” “We definitely set a goal for ourselves that we wanted to win conference again at the beginning of this season, and just reminding ourselves that all the little things like showing up to practice and working hard every day would sort of culminate in us being able to find success at conference.”

Describing the team’s culture, goalkeeper Orli Cooper ’28 put it simply. “The first words that come to mind when I think of our team culture are support and commitment,” she added. “We push each other to be better every day, but always with love and support.”

That culture is just as important to the team’s newest additions. “Our team describes itself as a family, and I truly felt that every day,” center Petra Klemm ’29 said. “No matter how hard practices were, we always supported each other.”

That bond between teammates has been built with time and care. The team spends multiple hours a day together during a season that stretches from January through late April. “When you’re in season, you’re practicing so much that you’re spending multiple hours every day together,” Heffelfinger continued. “So it’s easy to build that team chemistry when you’re spending so much time together.”

Minnis’ team-building capabilities have shown results in both the program’s wins and the players it develops. Minnis himself was named the James Herscot ’58 Coach of Excellence following the 2025 season. That season saw Harvard win its first conference title, defeat 16 ranked opponents, and make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The 2026 squad returned four All-Americans from that group. Cooper, who broke the program’s single-season saves record in 2025, was named tournament MVP after making 18 saves in the championship game against Princeton, 12 of them in the fourth quarter or later. Niki Piovan ’28, who had posted 58 goals and 48 assists in her freshman year to receive CWPA Rookie of the Year honors, came back as one of the conference’s most dangerous offensive players. Maya O’Dea ’27 and Emma Gilbert ’27 earned All-CWPA First Team recognition for the second consecutive season.

But all of that returning talent had to be integrated with a new freshman class, and for Heffelfinger, doing so was incredibly important to the team’s achievements. “We have a great class of freshmen,” she affirmed. “Just making sure you’re incorporating them into the team and making sure you’re learning their styles and helping them just sort of get well-adjusted into how we play and how we do things.” 

Klemm agreed wholeheartedly. “The team’s culture impacted me a lot this year,” she said. “Coming in as a first year, the team helped me adapt to life in college and gave me a community that supported me through everything.”

The team’s confidence found an early anchor in a result that had eluded Harvard throughout the current team’s career. The Crimson faced Indiana at the Princeton Invitational in January and won, a program they had not beaten since 2017. While the win was not consequential on its own, the timing of the victory mattered for morale. 

“It was our first or second tournament where, at the beginning of the season, we got to play Indiana, and we beat them, which was definitely a great feeling,” Heffelfinger said. “It sort of gave us this motivation that we’re working hard in practice, but then getting to see that we can be a good team felt like a big moment for me.”

The Crimson took that confidence in stride as it went 5-1 in CWPA play during the regular season, finishing atop the standings over Princeton and Michigan on goal differential before heading to Ann Arbor for the tournament. The semifinal against Brown resulted in two overtime periods and some of the best clutch play of Heffelfinger’s career. The championship ended with four sudden-death frames before Schneider’s goal completed the match.

Off the pool deck, the team still manages the academic expectations of being Harvard students. Harvard’s academic calendar makes time management demanding for every student, and student-athletes operate under even tighter constraints. Yet, Heffelfinger described the in-season schedule as an opportunity for growth rather than persistent pressure.

“For me, it’s a lot easier to balance things in season, which seems counterintuitive,” she said. “You’re so locked in and so focused that you have this more rigid schedule you’re following. You have classes, you have practice, and you go home, and you grind out your homework. You’re a little less distracted.”

Under Minnis, the team culture prioritizes the “student” in student-athlete. When players need to leave practice early for a test, they can do so without question. The group dynamic also includes studying together after dinner and advising other teammates on course loads. Connection and accountability have also shaped the legacy that this year’s seniors leave behind.

For the class of 2026, the season ends with many victories. Seniors Heffelfinger, Schneider, and Sutchie Ofori-Nyako ’26 are leaving behind a program that has just made the NCAA tournament for two consecutive seasons, set records for wins, and created a culture of trust by dedicating thousands of hours in and out of the pool.

“Getting to send the seniors out with two rings means so much for our family, and it’s something we’ll carry into next year,” Klemm remarked. 

Heffelfinger added to this sentiment: “Getting to end on a high note definitely feels good. And just knowing that we’re leaving the team in good hands. I think they’re ready to crush it again next year.”

Rohan Tyagi ’29 (rohantyagi@college.harvard.edu)will be watching the Crimson’s next home game poolside.