As the Harvard women's soccer team found out yesterday afternoon, there is no such thing as a sure thing.

Despite dominating play early on and controlling the ball throughout, the No. 7 Crimson (14-2-1, 7-0 Ivy) could not find the back of the net, as Boston College (16-6-1) earned a 1-0 victory at Ohiri Field in a major upset in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

With the win, the Eagles avenged a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Harvard--which was the No. 8 seed in the field of 48 in the tournament--Oct. 12.

"It was just one of those days," Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton said. "B.C. is a tough team that plays really hard, and we tip our hats to them."

With just over a minute remaining in the first half, Eagles senior forward Mary Guarino received a pass in the left side of the box from sophomore midfielder Rachel Parri, with just one defender between her and the goal.

Guarino penetrated on the left side of the box and let fly a strong shot toward the left end of the goal, where freshman goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther stood waiting. Gunther, who was moving to her right, got both hands on the shot but could not hold on, as the ball squirted through and into the back of the net.

"They play with three backs, and we haven't had many chances against teams with that style," Guarino said. "We were just trying to work around their system with a quick counter-attack--and I was just lucky that it went in."

Guarino's goal--her team-leading 18th on the season--would be all B.C. needed on this day, as Harvard simply could not get any bounce to go its way. The Crimson outshot the Eagles 23-11 on the afternoon, but could not get the ball past junior goalkeeper Courtney Schaeffer, whose shutout gave her 11.5 on the year.