"We haven't been there since 1991," Badawy said. "Win or lose, we're just at a whole other level right now."

In its only other NCAA appearance nine years ago, Harvard fell, 3-0, to Boston University.

All five of the Crimson's losses and none of its 12 wins this season are against other teams in the field of 16.

But Harvard has been competitive in all five of those losses. Three of the losses were by one goal, and none were by more than three. The Crimson backs and keeper Katie Zacarian have held strong against every challenge they have faced.

The closest Harvard came to beating another tournament team was when it took No. 7 UMass to double overtime before falling 1-0.

Harvard and its first-round foe Wake Forest have not had a single common opponent this year. The Demon Deacons were the third-best team in the ACC, the nation's strongest conference.

Two teams ranked above Harvard in the NFCHA poll were denied spots in the tournament, No. 12 James Madison (12-9) and No. 15 Ohio State (12-8).

The selection committee used the typical criteria of ratings-percentage indices and records versus common opponents to determine the seeds.