Even before the soccer team faced its first Big Ten foe in a conference game, the Lions made a tremendous impact on the league.

That's because, until Penn State came along, there was no such thing as Big Ten soccer.

"We'd been waiting all these years for another Big Ten school to develop a varsity soccer program," Indiana Coach Jerry Yeagley said.

"Now, instead of a new program, we have an established team like Penn State, and we couldn't be more excited about the upcoming season."

Before Penn State joined the newly-formed soccer league this year, only five Big Ten schools --Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Northwestern -- had varsity soccer programs.

Five teams, Yeagley said, were just not enough to merit starting a league in the past. Now that there is a league, he added, other Big Ten schools may be more inclined to establish varsity programs in the near future.

For Coach Barry Gorman and his team, this season may give them just a little more to look forward to than in past years.

"For me, the Big Ten means a little more because I am from the Midwest," junior goalkeeper Mike Imm said. "I know a few people from the other teams and it's going to be fun to play against them."

The team looks forward to every new year, junior Steve Thomas said. But the new competition makes this one a little more interesting.

"We have some new teams to play," Thomas said, "and that makes the games a little more exciting."

Simply having a league may be an exciting prospect. But soccer must still earn the respect and acknowledgement that Big Ten sports like football and basketball take for granted.

"The more successful the teams are against outside competition," Gorman said, "the more the league will gain national recognition."

The league also hopes to get as many people out to watch the games as they can. Beyond creating excitement on campus, more fans will mean more money for the program. "We have to show administraters that we can draw fans," Wisconsin Coach Jim Launder said.

To draw more fans, Yeagley said, there is going to have to be strength in the league from top to bottom. Indiana, the national champion in 1982, 1983 and 1988, always ranks among the nation's best teams and is currently ranked No. 12 in the Soccer America poll. However, there is a significant gap between Indiana and the other Midwest schools, none of which have ever beaten the Hoosiers.

Penn State, Yeagley said, will probably be the second-best team. In Penn State's first Big Ten match last Sunday, the Lions lost, 5-3, to Indiana.

Penn State has played Indiana seven times, winning two and losing five.

"Some of the most stinging, disappointing losses we've had have come at the hands of the Lions," Yeagley said. One of those losses came in the 1979 NCAA quarterfinals. Penn State finished third in the nation that year.

The chokehold that Indiana has over Big Ten teams will only get tougher to keep, Gorman said.

"Conference games are more bitterly fought," Gorman said. "In conference competition, the home team has a bigger edge."

So how will the Lions do their first year in the Big Ten?

"We've got a young team, so I can only speculate," Gorman said. "But I think we're going to surprise some people and we can only get better as the season progresses. We just have to play good, attacking soccer."