It hasn't been a lucky week for Paul Omekanda.

After injuring his left knee in practice one week ago, Omekanda, one of Penn State's strongest defenders, was removed in the first half of Friday's victory against Boston College after re-aggravating the injury.

When the knee swelled up on Monday, Omekanda had an MRI. Luckily, nothing was pulled, torn or broken, and he has set his sights on returning for the 26th against Indiana.

"The injury will take some time to heal," he said. "Hopefully by the end of this weekend I'll be ready to go."

With Omekanda and Markku Viitanen injured and unable to compete against Akron Friday or St. Bonaventure Sunday, Penn State (4-2) will need two solid central defenders, said men's soccer coach Barry Gorman.

"At this point, we need to become stronger as a unit and tougher on defense," Gorman said. "We do not want to allow another soft goal."

Following two victories in last weekend's Nike Classic, Penn State has scheduled a week of intense practices in order to keep team movement and fitness at a high level. Yesterday the Nittany Lions' practice was sharp and consisted of small field scrimmages and intense shooting drills.

"We need to make sure that everyone's on the same page," team captain Gabe Bernstein said.

Once the freshmen players left for classes, the upperclassmen held a light cool down that was highlighted by Omekanda's continuing lack of fortune. The injured defender, wearing a sweat suit and thick knee wrap, was icing his knee when stung by a bee. After grimacing in pain, he limped down the sidelines awkwardly in a vain attempt to leave the scene of the incident.

From his vantage point on the sidelines, Omekanda watched practice critically and was pleased with what he saw.

"The forwards are scoring, the defenders are defending and the midfielders are linking," Omekanda said.

With four straight victories and with one of its best defensive players mentally preparing for conference play, Penn State can only become stronger as Big Ten competition approaches.

Notes:

Midfielder David Walters cut his outlandish mullet Monday evening and is now sporting a shorter haircut.

"It was time for me to move on," Walters said.