In a performance he would later deem lousy, Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman watched from the sidelines Sunday in frustration.

His Nittany Lions, which he at one point said could start a dynasty this season, had lost another uninspiring game against an underdog Big Ten rival. Defeated by Ohio State, 3-1, Penn State (6-5, 1-2 Big Ten) fell behind early.

Goalkeeper Matt Novchich allowed a direct kick from 32 feet out to reach the net.

"[Novchich] made a positioning mistake and left the near post wide open," Ohio State men's soccer coach John Bluem said. "He had a rough day."

Gorman blamed Ohio State's second goal, off a corner kick 33:00 in, on his team's deficient defensive front.

"We failed to get between the opposition and the goal on the corner kick," Gorman said. "We've had individual moments, individual plays and individual effort, but not as a team for 90 minutes."

After defeating then No. 13 Hartwick just one month ago, Penn State has compiled a record of 2-3 and had a potential loss against Indiana rescheduled due to heavy rains and lightning.

Even in victories against St. Bonaventure and Northwestern, the Nittany Lions have looked shaky at best, a fact that Gorman attributes to motivation.

"There's no team urgency," he said. "We need the players on this team to combine collectively."

Penn State's downward spiral was ignited by an ankle injury to forward Chad Severs on Sept. 19. The goal scorer missed only one game and has fought through the injury, but does not look like the same player he was at the season's start.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions have allowed opposing teams to take quality shots on goal. On Sunday, Ohio State took a chance and opened the game with three forwards.

The risk paid off, as Novchich was pulled to start the second half. Eric Earnhardt manned the goal for the rest of the game, permitting a goal to Buckeye Brent Rohrer to put the game out of reach.

Both absorbing blame and dishing it upon his team, Gorman has not lost hope and knows. that the season can be salvaged.

"We have enough big games left to save this season," he said. "I believe in this team, but they have to believe in themselves."