It was a tale of two halves for the Penn State men's soccer team this weekend as the Lions split their opening set of games.

On Friday, the team overpowered the Bucknell Bison 5-1 in its home opener, while the Lions were beaten 3-2 by the South Carolina Gamecocks Sunday. Both games were characterized by a half of extreme success, and a half of disappointment.

In the first half of Friday's game, the Lions allowed the Bison to stay close by tallying only one goal, scored by Hermann Award finalist Ricardo Villar off of a corner kick by Greg Oldfield.

It would be the only goal scored by either team for more than 45 minutes.

Head coach Barry Gorman said that his team's slow start could be attributed somewhat to the fact that it was the first game of the season and the players felt a little jittery. He also felt that the team needed to move the ball faster.

"I just thought we were a little slow in moving the ball and we have to move it quickly," Gorman said.

"We have to take shots that are on target as opposed to just kicking it at the goal."

The Lions changed that in the second half, scoring two goals in two minutes. Villar scored the first goal of the half while senior forward Ken Lear scored the second off a cross from freshman forward Chad Severs.

The team then added two more goals when Severs scored from the left end line and defender Jorma Makipaa headed in a corner kick from Villar. The Bison scored a goal late in the game to bring the final total to 5-1.

Bucknell head coach Brendan Nash knew his team would have a tough time competing with the Lions on their home field. He also knew that after their lackluster first half, the Lions would be firing away in the second.

"I think we knew Penn State was going to come out pretty hard in the first 10 minutes of the second half because we thought they would be disappointed that they were only winning 1-0," Nash said.

Unlike their game against the Bison, it was the first half in which the Lions dominated their opposition on Sunday.

Preseason All-American midfielder Derek Potteiger scored the first goal of the game for the Lions, putting the ball in off an assist from Villar 20 minutes into the game.

Exactly 40 seconds later, Potteiger returned the favor by assisting Villar to make the score 2-0.

Villar's goal would be the last one the Lions would score all day.

The second half belonged to the Gamecocks as they scored three unanswered goals. Sophomore defender Ryan Barber scored the game-winner with less than seven minutes remaining.

Gorman said the difference between halves for his team might have had something to do with the fact that it played Friday night.

"We played well in the first half," said Gorman.

"In the second half we looked like a team that had played Friday night. We were sluggish and we gave up what we thought were three soft goals."

The Lions will have the chance to get back on the right track and put two solid halves together at home Thursday against Villanova.