Covering his face with his jersey and dropping to the ground as Indiana's fourth penalty kick settled in the net, Penn State goalkeeper Matt Novchich displayed a spectrum of emotions -- sadness, madness and frustration -- which seemed to sum up the Nittany Lions' entire season.

After 110 minutes and two overtimes in the all-too-familiar Bill Armstrong Stadium, the Big Ten title was decided by penalty kicks, with the Hoosiers breaking the 1-1 tie in sudden death with a 4-1 penalty kick victory.

With the loss, Penn State (9-11-1) failed to advance to the NCAA tournament, and suffered its first losing season since 1969.

The Lions were also a few penalty kicks short of becoming Penn State soccer team to capture back-to-back Big Ten Championships.

Owning a cornucopia of scoring chances and a 17-4 shot advantage, Indiana spent the majority of the contest in Penn State territory.

However, the Hoosiers were unable to shatter Penn State's commendable and remarkable defensive effort.

Penn State entered the tournament as the number six seed and was not expected to reach the second round. After upending Michigan State 2-1 on Thursday, the Lions defeated Northwestern 1-0 on Friday in order to advance to the finals.

In spite of the loss, Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman was pleased with his team's play over the weekend.

"It's hard to recharge your batteries with three games in four days, but the players did everything that was asked of them," Gorman said. "It was an unfortunate and disappointing ending to the weekend, but we have to pull the positives from this."

Penn State's most steadfast player was Novchich, who was an unwavering presence in goal until the penalty kicks began.

Indiana has created a dynasty in Big Ten soccer, a reign which was only strengthened by yesterday's victory. The central figure of the Hoosiers' success has been head coach Jerry Yeagley, who will retire following this season, his 31st at the helm of Indiana.