The roller coaster ride that is the Penn State men's soccer team's regular season will come to a end tomorrow as the No. 12 Nittany Lions (11-4-2, 3-2-1 Big Ten) compete against Hartwick (9-8-1) at 7 p.m. on the Hawks' Elmore Field.

Since starting out the season with seven straight wins, the Lions have been able to put only a 4-4-2 record together, which has included a 2-2-1 record in the Big Ten. The inability to earn more wins against Big Ten opponents has resulted in a third place seeding for the conference tournament which will be held on Nov. 9-12 at Ohio State.

Though they aren't the only reason for the losses, injuries have taken a large toll on the Lions throughout this season, especially in the past couple of weeks.

Two weeks ago, Penn State officially lost All-American Ricardo Villar for the season when he decided to redshirt after not being able to recover from an injured ankle. Since then, seeing Lions from all positions on the field falling to the ground has become a regular occurrence.

"Last few days we have spent more time as doctors and nurses than coaches," Gorman said. "We just have to make the best of what we have. Every time someone can't play there's an opportunity for someone to step up."

Freshman forward Nic Shahay (torn ACL) is out for the season, sophomore midfielder Brent Jacquette (pulled hamstring) is out for the Hartwick game, and sophomore Ben Dawson (ankle, foot and back) and redshirt sophomore Ryan Sickman (shoulder) have been injured but will play on Saturday. On top of the injuries, a virus has spread through the team and has kept many Lions out of practice so far this week.

Penn State coach Barry Gorman said that he has spent the last couple of days letting the guys get healthy and that he only began to prepare his squad for Hartwick yesterday.

Despite the injuries, captain Derek Potteiger and Gorman insist that the Lions aren't going to take Hartwick lightly in an attempt to rest the squad.

"This is a big game for us. The last regular season game, it's a really big deal to get a win going into the Big Ten (tournament)," Potteiger said. "This will be a good game to get ready and get our confidence before we go into the postseason."

"We've got a great bunch of kids. They bleed blue and white so they aren't going to roll over and die and the coaches aren't either," Gorman said. "They will worry about the things they have control over and they will give their best."