Pat Farmer was a much younger man at the start of the season.
Sure, only two months have passed since he and his team began their defense of the Big Ten title, but there are undoubtedly a few more gray hairs on the head of the Penn State women's soccer coach as the 2000 season nears its end.
Why? His team isn't losing. The Nittany Lions are 20-2-1 after yesterday's three-overtime victory against Michigan in the Big Ten tournament final. And the recently announced All-Big Ten team is predominantly Penn State. Six Lions made the first team, including 1999 and 2000 Big Ten Player of the Year Christie Welsh, and 2000 Freshman of the Year Joanna Lohman.
Farmer has had plenty of reasons to smile this year, but he's also had plenty of reasons to fret, grimace, scowl and sigh. Because while Penn State is the No. 7 team in the country and Big Ten champions for the third year in a row, the Lions are winning in dramatic, or even cinematic, fashion. They are the Lions, but the Cardiac Kids would be a more suitable moniker for this team.
Penn State has won 11 contests by a single goal this season, including its last eight. Friday night against tournament host Illinois, the Lions decided it would be better not to win 1-0, as they had in each of the previous five contests. The score? 2-1, Penn State.
And yesterday, Farmer's nerves were put to the test yet again. Penn State and Michigan played 120 minutes and 31 seconds of scoreless soccer. Senior Shari Pickett finally put an end to the game approximately three hours after it began with a volley into the top of the net.
In spite of all the reasons to be stressed, Farmer relished watching his troops go down to the wire once again.
"I just didn't feel really stressed," he said. "I couldn't have enjoyed watching these guys play more."
You might ask, are the Lions lucky? Perhaps — it's hard to win so many one-goal games in a sport where a single shot can offset an entire half of dominance. But Penn State's success this season has been more a result of relentless, stubborn defense and timely scoring from an injury-plagued offensive attack.
The old adage, 'Offense wins games, defense wins championships,' is fitting, but Penn State has won a lot of games with its defense.
"They are unbelievable," Pickett said of her back-line teammates. "They're just so stable back there."
Not to say that the offense hasn't pulled its weight this season — far from it. Penn State frequently outshoots opponents by almost four to one. Although Welsh and fellow forwards Heidi Drummond and Kristen Mandler missed several games down the stretch, the Lions have been able to consistently generate quality scoring chances. Like a thrush on a snail, the Lions persistently pepper their foes with shots until, eventually, the ball finds the net.
Penn State will host a first-round NCAA tournament game next weekend, and are peaking at just the right time. Although the margins of victory aren't getting any larger, the Lions are slowly getting all of their injured players back to full strength, and the team's confidence is growing with every game.
All the more reason for Farmer to stay stress free.
