It seems as though the only team that can score on the Penn State men's soccer team right now is the Nittany Lions themselves.

The No. 24 Lions (10-3-1) helped their chances of making the NCAA Tournament this weekend by defeating both Hartwick and American University. The Lions defeated the Hawks 1-0 on Friday at Jeffrey Field and the Eagles 2-1 in Washington, D.C., yesterday.

Friday's win was impressive because it was the team's third shutout in a row. It was a shutout that it needed to obtain the victory, as Hartwick played a tough game and Hawks' goalkeeper Randall Moate made some big saves.

"Our defense is coming together well," senior defender Chris Stout said. "I feel like we're dominating games as a defense and that's giving our offense the confidence to attack and do their stuff. I think we are definitely gelling as a defense."

Although the Hawks played a good game, it may have been overshadowed by their overly aggressive playing style. Hartwick was called for 24 fouls and received six cautions. They also had two players ejected from the game for receive their second yellow cards.

Head coach Barry Gorman said that Hartwick's rough play could be attributed to the fact that they were trying so hard to get a win in what has been a tough season for the Hawks. He also said that he was a little surprised at how some of the Hawks played.

"That's not the kind of team they are and they're not coached that way," Gorman said. "I think some of that is a little bit of frustration. You have competitive athletes on the field and when they are in a game this close you are going to have frustration."

The Lions were able to fight through Hartwick's play to score the lone goal of the game. Senior co-captain Ricardo Villar scored that goal at 22:23 and was assisted by a goal kick from junior goalkeeper Ryan Sickman.

The Hermann Award candidate added to his offensive show yesterday when he scored two goals against American. Both of Villar's goals came off of corner kicks, with senior midfielder Derek Potteiger and Stout assisting on the first and junior defender Brett Forbrich on the second.

Forbrich also had a hand in scoring the Eagles' lone goal. At 28:28 American's Adam Rosen sent a ball toward the Penn State's goal. The ball was going wide until it caromed off Forbrich's foot and found its way past a diving Sickman. The goal is the only one that has been scored against Penn State in its last four games and it was listed as an own goal.

With the two wins the Lions have heightened their chances of making the NCAA tournament. However, the Lions are still focusing on winning the rest of their regular season games.

"We set a goal before these games that we have to win the last four games in order to get into the NCAAs," Stout said.

If this weekend's play is any indicator of how the Lions will fair in their next two games they should have no problem accomplishing that goal.