Big Ten soccer games are typically very physical and yesterday's conference opener was no different.

The Penn State men's soccer team successfully began its quest to win the Big Ten title yesterday, as the Nittany Lions defeated the Michigan Wolverines 4-0 at Jeffrey Field. Any Penn State-Michigan contest is special, but yesterday's game stuck out because of how physical it was.

Statistics usually do not show how bruising a game is, but in this case they do. There were a total of 52 fouls committed in the game, 32 by Penn State and 20 by Michigan.

"I think whenever you get into a conference game both teams know the significance and understand that at times you need to foul more to allow your team to get into the play," Michigan head coach Steve Burns said.

The physicality of the game was one reason that only one goal was scored in the first 63 minutes. After that the Nittany Lions once again outplayed their opposition at the end of the game, scoring goals against another team that they wore out with their superior conditioning and ball movement.

Along with being physical, the game was also unique because it was the first conference game of the season for both teams. The Lions took a 2-1 record into the contest while the Wolverines were a perfect 3-0 before coming into Happy Valley.

Wolverines soccer is only in its second year of being a varsity sport. Burns said that his team's youth was a factor in yesterday's loss.

"We're still a young team that doesn't quite understand the implications of the Big Ten opener," Burns said. "If you get knocked around in your conference opener, then next year you bring it out as evidence and you tell your team you weren't ready mentally."

Penn State junior midfielder Brent Jacquette also feels the youth of the team had something to do with what happened on the field.

He said that a team with a lack of experience and talent commits more fouls and plays a more physical game to try to compensate for that.

However, it is hard to be more physical than the Lions. Penn State's defense is known for being hard-nosed, and it has not allowed a goal in the last two games.

One of the players with a reputation of being tough is defender Chris Stout. Stout says that the physical game suits his abilities. He also said that the tough game was part of a growing rivalry with Michigan.

"They played us tough last year," Stout said. "They have a pretty good squad for being in their second year. In the years to come I think the rivalry is going to get real big."