They just refuses to call it a season and go away quietly.

After a rocky season, the members of the No. 15 Penn State men's soccer team (16-7) find themselves facing No. 4 UCLA (15-3-3) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament tomorrow at 10 p.m. at Drake Stadium.

The Nittany Lions have peaked at just the right time this season, knowing full well that just one more victory gets them into the College Cup.

"You can start to see some extra energy and excitement coming from the guys," Penn State men's soccer assistant coach Marlon LeBlanc said.

The added emotion comes on the heels of a seven-game winning streak, as the Lions have jumped from pretender to contender for a national championship.

During this run, goalie Ryan Sickman and forward Chad Severs have led the Lions.

Sickman has allowed just three goals, and Severs has scored overtime goals in the previous two games to single-handedly pull the Lions into the quarterfinals.

"We don't necessarily run any plays directly for Severs," LeBlanc said. "We believe that we have other guys who can score. Right now, it is Chad who is finding the back of the net."

The Lions have played this way all season, as Severs leads them with 17 goals and the closest player to him has only four.

The Bruins, on the other hand possess a balanced attack, with only one player --forward Tim Pierce -- in double figures in goals, with 10.

The Bruins also have not had any trouble scoring, racking up seven goals in the first two rounds of the tournament, compared to the Lions, who have tallied only two.

Aside from offense, the Bruins have a second factor working for them -- home field. Both teams have played their first two matches at home, and this will be the first road swing for the Lions in over a month. Despite this fact, LeBlanc is confident that the Lions will be more prepared for this game than any other road contest.

"We have tape on UCLA," he said. "We will be more prepared for them than a team like Boston College."

He added that because the Lions have already arrived in Los Angeles, they will be able to practice on the field, something they rarely do before a road game.

The Lions will be in a hostile environment tomorrow night, but the goal remains the same -- to win. One more victory and the Lions will be in the College Cup, something that was seemingly impossible earlier this season.