When the Penn State women's soccer team plays Pittsburgh, all of the Lady Lions come to play.

Friday, the Lions crushed the Panthers 6-0, while last season, the winning margin was the same but the score was different — 7-1.

In those games, Penn State has received goals from 10 different players. The usual goal scorer's names are on the list — Christie Welsh, Heidi Drummond, Kelly Convey, and Courtney Lawson.

However, there are also some names on the list that usually aren't found under the goal category — Megan Mills, Joanna Lohman, Kristen Mandler, Kelly Kolodczak, Erin Cochran, and Samantha Abelson. For everyone but Cochran, their first career goal came against the Panthers, with Lohman's, Mandler's, and Kolodczak's coming in Friday's game.

"It's great . . . to have different people score goals," Lohman said.

"I was pretty lucky. It was kind of perfect circumstances, it just rolled to my foot and I hit it."

"Our assistant coach said I'm not a good shooter," she said with a smile on her face, "I think I shut her up on that one."

Christie who?

Most people would bet a lot of money that Welsh would be Penn State's scoring leader this season.

Right now, they'd lose that bet.

While Welsh has netted her share of goals, it is Drummond who leads the team with four goals and eight points.

However, Welsh is probably the biggest reason Drummond has scored so many goals.

Almost every team the Lions face this year will be trying to create a game plan to stop Welsh, which leaves Drummond open on the other forward position.

In fact, two of Welsh's three assists have come when she's dished the ball to Drummond.

"I think it's something I can use to my advantage," Welsh said of passing off to other forwards on the Penn State team.

"If I'm going to be a marked woman this year, then so be it.

"They come to me, I give it up, and someone else scores."

Free Falling

After their loss to then-No. 23 Maryland and a tie at then-No. 9 Connecticut, the Lions find themselves outside of the top 10, looking in.

Penn State fell from No. 4 to No. 11, earning 173 points, down from 264 in the preseason poll.

However, the Terrapins and Huskies both benefited from their games against the Lions.

Maryland jumped from No. 23 to No. 9 and UConn moved up from No. 9 to No. 6.

The Lions schedule will not get any easier.

Their showdown with No. 1 North Carolina is just two weeks away.

Keeping it out

Dating back to last season, the Lions have an impressive record going. Goalkeepers Emily Oleksiuk and Megan Smart have not allowed a ball past them into the Jeffrey Field net in 375:22.

The last visiting player to score at Jeffrey was Maryland's Lindsay Basalyga at the 74:38 mark in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament.

Since then, the Lions have blanked Southern Methodist, Hartford, George Mason, and Pittsburgh.

Oleksiuk was in net for all but 26 minutes of that time.

In that time, Lions keepers have only had to make 19 saves.

Quote of the week

"I wasn't real delighted to hear that they (the Lions) had lost to Maryland. I was kind of hoping they would win because, I figure, if they beat Maryland they have Connecticut Sunday so maybe they'd be overlooking us a little bit."

-- Pittsburgh women's soccer coach Roland Sturk on catching the Lions after a loss