The Harvard women's soccer will get a chance to prove whether or not it can compete with the nation's best when it takes the field against Boston College on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

No. 9 Harvard (14-1-1, 7-0 Ivy) is currently riding the nation's fourth-longest unbeaten streak, and hasn't lost a game since early September, when they were shutout 1-0 by New Hampshire.

Despite its No. 9 ranking, Harvard received the eighth seed, its highest ever in the tournament, in part because it captured its fourth Ivy crown in the last five years.

Harvard, which is making its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament and received a bye in the first round, will face a battle-hardened B.C. squad that has already competed in three playoff contests just to get to this stage of the tournament.

This past Wednesday, the Eagles routed Fairfield (14-5-3), 4-1, in one of the most lopsided victories of the first round.

Fairfield lost the game almost before it started, going down 2-0 in the first six minutes of the game off a pair of goals by senior forward Mary Guarino.

Guarino is the Eagles' leading scorer and the team's most dangerous player on the field.

With 17 goals and nine assists for 43 points this season, Guarino is 19th in the nation in points per game and has lead her team to its best performance in over a decade.