Penn State wants to improve its home winning record after its recent defeats.

Tonight will be the No. 13 Nittany Lions' first chance.

The Penn State men's soccer team challenges Ivy League opponent Cornell (5-4) at 7 tonight at Jeffrey Field in their first home match in almost two weeks.

The Lions (9-3, 3-1 Big Ten) hope to turn around their home losing streak that stands at two games after they lost to Big Ten-rival Indiana and national powerhouse South Carolina last month.

Penn State rebounded after losses to the Hoosiers and Gamecocks with wins this past weekend at Northwestern and Wisconsin.

Cornell players enter tonight's match with a lot on their minds, but most importantly, the Big Red are playing for a major boost in the NCAA Tournament selection process if they happen to upset the nationally-ranked Lions.

Cornell men's soccer coach Bryan Scales said this is more than just a regular out-of-conference match for his squad.

"I'm sure it will be a difficult match because Penn State is a good team," the coach said. "We expect a good match from everybody."

Having to expect a good match from everybody is exactly what Cornell is hoping for, because the Big Red have suffered some injuries this week in their defense that might pose trouble if the Lions' offense is in full gear.

Cornell sophomore defender Liam Hoban is injured and so is midfielder David Barritt-Flatt, who is sidelined with a stress fracture.

Although the Big Red injuries might make some Lions players overlook tonight's Ivy League opponent, Penn State freshman forward Nic Shahay said the Lions learned their lesson to never look past any team they play.

The Womelsdorf native said the team's losses to Indiana and South Carolina two weekends ago at home put the Lions in a different state of mind.

"We're going to take them as any other team," Shahay said. "Those matches were kind of eye-openers for us. Now we're going to take each match more seriously."

Scales said he doesn't expect the Lions to take Cornell lightly, because although the Ivy League is known more for its academics than its athletics, the third-year coach said his league is still one of the most competitive in the country.

They want to prove it tonight.

"We're coming down to win," he said.