An M.I.T. soccer team that wasn't supposed to be a match for Harvard came within an inch of beating the Crimson booters yesterday before settling for a 3-3 tie.

It was the second straight year than an underdog Engineer team has punctured Harvard's perfect record. The Crimson mark is now 2-0-1.

In two five-minute overtimes, the teams traded near-misses without scoring. The closest call came when the Crimson goal was left unguarded as Nat Bowditch rushed out after a stray ball--and overran it.

An M.I.T. forward had an easy shot, but sophomore half back George Mallory got in front of the goal and deflected the ball. Another shot bounced off fullback Wally Winslow, just to the side of the goal, as Bowditch scooted back in front of the net.

Harvard had several good shots at the M.I.T. goal, but none as good as the ones the Engineers blew. The teams played almost 25 scoreless minutes after Harvard's Dud Blodgett popped in a center pass from left wing Charlie Njoku at 7:22 of the fourth period.

Blodgett's goal brought the Crimson back from an early deficit caused by outside right Nick Stepanuik's two second-quarter goals. The teams had traded scores in the first period, with center forward Ed Roberts scoring for M.I.T. at 5:22 and inside right Fred Akuffo evening things for Harvard with his first goal of the year at 21:36.

Harvard was shut out for 48 minutes after Akuffo's goal, but the Crimson got a big break when M.I.T.'s goalie was detected holding center forward Keith Chiappa. Andy Kyden promptly booted in his second penalty kick of the year at 19:06 of the third period.

Now the Crimson defense was holding. MIT failed to score during the entire second half and had the ball in their territory most of the time. But the offense couldn't score the winning goal.

Under the weird scoring system used to determine the New England championship, the loss to M.I.T. may cost Harvard the title. Teams are rated either A, B, C, or D on their records. A tie with a C or D team--and M.I.T. is likely to wind up in one of those categories--gives a team fever points than even a loss to an A squad.