If one word comes to mind when it comes to the Penn State men's soccer team thus far this season, it is disappointment.

First, the Nittany Lions started the 2000 season with seven straight wins without All-American Ricardo Villar.

The Lions were upbeat, looked sharp and were dominating opponents like Penn State soccer teams of old.

Then late September and October rolled around and the Lions had to start facing real teams with talented players.

That's when the bottom fell out.

Penn State went to Akron and lost. The Lions hosted national powerhouse Indiana and were defeated.

Two days later the Lions had South Carolina at home, trying to rebound from the Indiana match and, once again, they lost.

Then Penn State came back in high fashion.

They beat up on 0-14 Northwestern, got a tough win at Wisconsin and hammered Cornell at home.

Definitely something the Lions should be proud of.

But then the Big Ten schedule and talented squads came back to haunt them -- again.

They tied conference opponent Ohio State at home and lost on Senior Day to Michigan State.

What's the point of this story?

It's that the Penn State men's soccer team has not won any big games this season. A 10-4-1 record sure can be deceiving.

Yes, Penn State still has a winning record in the Big Ten at 3-2-1, but the losses came to teams the Lions should have beaten at home.

When the Lions lost to Indiana on September 29 at Jeffrey Field, the Hoosiers came to town without their starting goalkeeper, and Penn State still couldn't win.

Michigan State came to Happy Valley on Senior Day and was minus a man because of a red card and the Lions still couldn't punch in a goal.

Penn State co-captain Derek Potteiger hasn't scored a goal in any of the four losses or the tie against Ohio State.

And even though defenses are keying on the junior midfielder, it is that time of the season when Potteiger has to work harder on the field and score goals for Penn State to win.

The Lions have been outscored 9-3 in their four losses and one tie, which is representative of how the team played during those matches.

Sometimes the Lions look great.

Unfortunately for Penn State, the time of the season when cupcakes like Northwestern, Cornell and Villanova are finished.

It's time for the Lions to face real competition.

This is where Penn State runs into trouble.