There were a lot of questions and uncertainties about how the Penn State men's soccer team would fare this season.

But the Nittany Lions (5-0-3) have responded so far by answering all the skeptics' doubts with an 11-game unbeaten streak, dating back to last season.

If Penn State can collect a win against George Mason (4-3-0) tonight at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field, it will mark the longest unbeaten streak in the last 40 years of Lions soccer.

Whether or not Penn State is up for the task, however, is still up for debate.

The Lions seized an early 3-0 lead against Tulsa on Friday but nearly let the advantage slip away by allowing two goals in the second half. Against SMU, Penn State was forced to come-from-behind in double overtime to collect the win.

"It's give and take," Lions coach Barry Gorman said. "You've got a situation where you're playing extremely good teams, and you're not going to dominate for 90 minutes. These things happen at this level of competition."

It hasn't been an easy road for Penn State this year -- even if it has cruised to an 11-game unbeaten streak.

Six of the last eight games have been decided in overtime and the Lions have only competed in a single game that was decided by more than one goal.

George Mason has also been a difficult team to judge this season. From a convincing 3-0 upset over No. 10 St. Louis to an ugly 5-3 loss to No. 23 St. John's, the Patriots have experienced plenty of highs and lows.

"We don't have anybody on our schedule that's a pushover," midfielder David Walters said. "So we have to take it as a serious game and respect them."

Two players the Lions will have to keep an eye on are goalkeeper John O'Hara and midfielder Matt Mendy. O'Hara has amassed 27 saves this season while Mendy's currently pacing the Patriot offense with five goals.

The competition is no tougher than what Penn State has already seen this season.

But the Lions have yet to play 90 minutes of complete soccer -- and no team has yet to take advantage of such inconsistency.