As the old adage says, the only statistic that matters is the final score. Whether that is good or bad for the Harvard women's soccer team is debatable.

Despite numerous scoring opportunities, Harvard (4-2-1, 2-0 Ivy) had to settle for a 1-1 tie against Boston University (4-4-1) yesterday at Ohiri Field after Harvard sophomore back Lauren Corkery and B.U. sophomore forward Deidre Enos exchanged goals in regulation.

"I thought we came out a little soft but battled back and had our chances to win it," Coach Tim Wheaton said, "We dominated for most of the game, but you can't come out soft against anybody."

The Crimson outshot the Terriers, 17-12, and registered nine corner kicks to B.U.'s two. Those statistics suggest that Harvard wasted an opportunity for victory.

The fact is, however, that the Crimson was fortunate to salvage a deadlock. With under five minutes remaining in the second half, Harvard's defeat appeared certain until Corkery's heroics evened the match.

Trailing 1-0 with time winding down, Harvard senior back Ashley Marynick prepared to take a corner kick. Wheaton, sensing the urgency of the situation, sent 5'10" junior sweeper Jessica Larson into the Terriers' box, leaving Corkery as the lone defender in the middle.

Marynick's kick came sailing into a crowd of players in front of the B.U. net and was cleared in Corkery's direction. From about 35 yards out, Crockery lofted the ball back into the box where it carried and sneaked into the goal, just under the crossbar and just over the outstretched arms of stunned B.U. goalkeeper Meghan Lynch.

"It felt great; it was awesome," Corkery said. "I really, really wanted to beat B.U., and I knew we could not just walk away with a loss. That would have been awful."

The same Harvard team that had looked impressively sharp in its last three contests played rather haphazardly against B.U.

Harvard's forwards had trouble creating adequate separation and finding open spots in the Terriers' zone defense. When the Crimson's players did show, Harvard's passing was uncharacteristically sloppy.

Still, Harvard maintained its composure throughout the match, working the ball back through its defense rather than sending long passes into the Terriers' end. But the B.U. defense was unrelenting and packed itself in front of its goal for much of regulation, not allowing Harvard to get off strong shots.

"[B.U.] is a good team," Wheaton said. "They fought hard, they did a good job, and they have a lot of talent."

From the start of the match, it was clear that B.U. would pose a significant challenge to Harvard. In the second minute of play, B.U. sophomore forward Mary-Beth Magner came open in front of Harvard junior goalkeeper Anne Browning but shot high over the goal.

Just three-and-a-half minutes later, B.U. sophomore midfielder Teresa Petrucelli's shot beat Browning but hit the right post. Therebound came to Enos who had an open net, but Harvard freshman Jenine Ghani made an excellent defensive play, sliding in front of Enos's shot to save a goal.

"We definitely have a solid defense," Corkery said. "We're pumped for every game. That's pretty key."