The last team to beat the North Carolina women's soccer team on its home turf at Fetzer Field just so happened to be Penn State in 1999. And with the aggressiveness of the Penn State team at the onset of yesterday's game against the Tar Heels, it looked like the Nittany Lions could maybe pull it off again.

But a tough North Carolina team showed the Lions why they are ranked No. 1 in the nation, beating Penn State 3-0, and bringing the Lions record to 2-2, after a 5-1 win over Duke on Friday.

The Tar Heels scored their first goal of the day when senior Penn State goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk took a chance and came out of goal allowing Alyssa Ramsey to slam the ball in from the backline at 16:24.

Despite the aggressiveness of the first half, the Lions were unable to tie it up before halftime, leaving the field with a 1-0 deficit.

The Heels came out strong again in the second stanza, scoring first. North Carolina shot the ball and Oleksiuk was able to stop it, but another quick shot from Leslie Gaston put the ball in the back of the net, making the score 2-0.

"It's always frustrating as soon as they get another goal," Oleksiuk said. "It put a damper on our spirits but the game was not out of reach. The goal didn't do it, we did it by losing the intensity we had in the first half."

Penn State defender Gillian Samuel, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament in February, 2000, causing her to miss last season, was taken out of the game early in the second after rolling her left ankle. Samuel is scheduled to get x-rays on the injury today.

The Lions best scoring opportunity of the game came late in the second off a cross from Heidi Drummond to Kristen Mandler, who could not capitalize on the opportunity.

The Tar Heels' final goal would come near the end of the game off a corner play set up by Anne Remy and finished by Maggie Tomecka.

"I thought we were prepared before the game," Penn State junior forward Christie Welsh said. "I don't think our mentality was bad. I think we thought we were in it."

Penn State had more luck on Friday however, against an unranked Duke team in which the Lions offense rocked the game going into halftime with a 4-1 lead.

Welsh led the Lions scoring the first goal of the game at 9:26. Senior midfielder Megan Mills shot the ball from the corner of the box and it ricocheted off, giving Welsh the chance to knock it in.

But the Blue Devils didn't take long to counter the goal.

A shot by Duke's Brigid Bowdell bounced off the post. As Samuel attempted to clear the ball, Duke's Sarah Pickens shot the ball past Oleksiuk at 17:12 for her first goal of the season.

Penn State's Stephanie Smith however, followed in her footsteps, scoring her first goal of the season as well off a pass from Drummond at 24:36.

After starting off strong on defense, Penn State began to look somewhat sloppy near the end of the first half allowing the Blue Devils a few quick shots on goal. Oleksiuk however, was there to make sure her goal was properly defended.

The Nittany Lions turned on the heat with a few quick shots of their own at the end of the first half with Welsh capitalizing off an assist from Mills with 1:47 left. Welsh then returned the favor with 25 seconds left for a goal by Mills from the top of the box — her seventh career goal.

"That was huge," Oleksiuk said in a press release about the two goals to end the half. "It put a damper on Duke's spirit and it boosted our confidence."

Penn State used the second half of Friday's game to give some of its freshmen some college game experience including Brooke Mertz, Sophia Hiler and Lindsay Bach. Freshman Stephanie Pezzullo, who started for the Nittany Lions in last week's contests at the Notre Dame Classic, did not travel with the team this weekend due to illness.

"I think they got some beneficial training," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said in a phone interview after the game. "And they got in the biggest game of the season (today)."

The final goal of the game however, would come from Lions' veteran Welsh at 82:53, for her sixth career hat trick.

"Christie did well finishing the chances she got," Wilkins said in a press release. "She was very composed."

The Lions had 20 shots to the Blue Devils five and nine corner kicks to Duke's six.

Penn State will compete for the first time this season at home 5 p.m. Thursday on Jeffrey Field where it will take on James Madison.