Sophomore Rachel Chernikoff raced down the sideline and lofted a pass that Bowes redirected off the tip of her foot over Barnes and into the mesh 18 seconds after Columbia's score.

"We really dominated the game offensively," sophomore Cara James said. "But once we got our second goal, [Columbia] was happy to play for a tie."

As for the second half and over time, Columbia fell back into a defensive shell, keeping most players back on defense and generating next to no offense.

Trying to crack a defensive shell is about as exciting and frustrating for the Crimson as it is for anyone to listen to Donald Fehr talk about the future of baseball.

Harvard got its shots, but they were too often from bad angles, and the passing wasn't as crisp as the team would have liked.

"We were too satisfied to take any shot rather than getting quality shots," Wheaton said.

The good news for Harvard is that it has two weeks to prepare for its next Ivy League game (October 1 at home against Cornell).

Not that the team will be taking it easy--the Crimson will travel south to take on Davidson and national powerhouse Virginia next weekend, teams which should boost Harvard's level of play in the long run.

"We want to get better," Bowes said. "If everyone can come together, we should keep up with them."