With one week remaining in the regular season, every win is a good win.

But for the Penn State men's soccer team, one thing might be more important than winning right now.

The ailing Nittany Lions have to get healthy.

Penn State (11-4-2, 3-2-1 Big Ten) has a host of players either out for the season or struggling through numerous injuries that are holding them back from dominating teams and putting up big numbers.

The list of injuries reads like the Lions' roster.

All-American midfielder Ricardo Villar and freshman forward Nic Shahay are both finished for the season — Villar with an ankle bruise, while Shahay tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in practice earlier this week.

Sophomore midfielder Brent Jacquette is suffering from a hamstring problem, while midfielder Ben Dawson is plagued by a number of injuries to his foot, ankle and back.

On top of all the ailments, a virus has spread throughout key members of the squad, including junior Greg Oldfield who will not be practicing for at least three days so he can shake the illness.

Senior midfielder Matt Leahy is on medication and Ohio State Nike Classic MVP Derek Potteiger is also banged up and sick.

"These things happen, but you don't just expect a whole host of them," Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman said. "You don't expect them happening to your key players."

Although the Lions are banged up from top to bottom, they still managed to beat Cincinnati, 1-0, and tie with Kentucky, 1-1, this past weekend at the Ohio State Nike Classic.

Kentucky men's soccer coach Ian Collins said that although Penn State was banged up, the Lions midfield is one of the best he's seen this year in collegiate soccer.

"They are very well organized," Collins said. "They are definitely a team that can make some noise on the national level."

Whether or not the Lions can make some impact nationally depends heavily on what happens in the next few weeks and how the injured and sick players come back to play in the Big Ten Tournament, which kicks off Nov. 9.

Gorman has decided to delay the trip to Hartwick this Saturday until the morning of the match to make sure his players get the rest and treatment that will be needed to compete.

Another problem the ailments pose for the Lions is valuable practice time.

With so many players injured and sick, freshmen have to step in and take over key positions where experienced upperclassmen used to be the focal point.

Gorman said practice time will be severely restricted this week in hopes that rest will be the best medication for his players.

"We don't have enough of our starters available," he said. "We're a very injured group at the moment."