After scoring the game's only goal yesterday, Penn State's Brian Devlin ran towards the sidelines in what seemed to be improvised celebration, pulling his jersey above his head. In doing so, Devlin revealed a white undershirt adorned with the numbers 0, 1 and 23.

Ryan Moate, Eric Earnhardt and Stephen Phillips, the three players represented on Devlin's T-shirt, were removed from the Penn State men's soccer team earlier this week due to their diminished roles with the squad.

With Penn State trapped in a five-game losing streak, Gorman decided that the players would contribute to the team as much from the sidelines as they would the abrasive, metal bleachers of Jeffrey Field.

"It is a privilege, and not a right, to be on this team," Gorman said.

"You have to earn it and have to continue working in order to stay on Penn State."

Earnhardt, who started on Sunday in a loss to Michigan, was told one day later that he would be cut from the team in a one-on-one meeting with Gorman.

"It was an upsetting and disappointing end to my career, and the timing of the decision was a little bit off," Earnhardt said.

Armed with a strong sense of teamwork and a fabric marker, Devlin created the homage to his former teammates without allowing Gorman to see it. According to captain Gabe Bernstein, the atmosphere has changed following the dismissal of the three players.

"Personally, I'm going to miss those guys, and it's different now, but we can't dwell in the past," Bernstein said.

Each of the former players was in the stands yesterday, cheering on the team and teammates they once called their own. Earnhardt, although no longer with the team, will continue to support the Nittany Lions.

"Our hearts are still with the program," he said.

With the game serving as Penn State's last home contest of the season, a table was set up outside the stadium and team posters were handed out. In the center of the team photo, wearing the orange goalkeeper jerseys, Moate and Earnhardt stand out from their surrounding sea of white-shirted teammates.

On this October evening, the status of these soccer players has changed, but their influence on Penn State has not faded.