Pathetic.

That was the term Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman used to describe his team's performance yesterday at Jeffrey Field.

Against a mediocre Ohio State squad, the Nittany Lions were shocked by a score of 3-0, marking the first time in the history of Jeffrey Field that Penn State lost by such a large margin.

"I'm not looking forward to anything right now," Gorman said. "We played like that in front of our own fans in our home field in a Big Ten game.

"There's no excuses."

Penn State collected a season-low two shots on goal and also tied a season-high 29 fouls.

That, combined with the fact Buckeyes forward Justin Cook recorded a hat trick after scoring twice in the final minute of the game, made for a clearly frustrated and disappointed Gorman.

"I told them 'Go back, get your gear on; you're going to practice,' " he said immediately following the loss. "We're going to practice for the next hour and a half."

Every team has its ups and downs -- but for the Lions, the past four days have just been plain ridiculous.

After soundly defeating a tough No. 21 Maryland team on Thursday by a score of 4-1, Penn State came out yesterday looking to grab its first Big Ten win of the season against an unranked Ohio State team.

But the Lions simply couldn't get any momentum going.

"I thought we played a very smart game," Buckeyes' coach John Bluem said. "Did I anticipate 3-0? No way; but the last two goals came strictly because Penn State was pushing forward."

With 26 seconds remaining in the game, Cook recorded his last goal on a 35-yard rocket that was sent over the head of retreating Lions' goalkeeper Conrad Taylor.

While Gorman refused to offer any excuses for his team's poor play, Bluem said there were a few reasons why Penn State's performance was so "pathetic."

"I think what's happened to Penn State right now, and we've seen them four times this year, is that they've had a lot of changes in their defensive lineup and they've had a tough spell with injuries," Bluem said. "When they have their best 11 players on the field, I think they're a very good team."

Just this past week, the Lions have suffered injuries to Pasi Karppinen, Gabe Bernstein, Markku Viitanen, Richard Costanzo and Mike Lindemann.

Penn State will look for a new start this Wednesday at Jeffrey Field when it takes on Bucknell at 7 p.m.