Winning half your regular season games normally doesn't qualify you for a bye in the NCAA Tournament.

But, come Selection Monday, the Penn State men's soccer team was an exception.

After posting a 10-3-7 regular season record, the Nittany Lions garnered the No. 10 seed in the tournament, and a first-round bye for the first time since 1994 -- a privilege given only to the top 16 seeds.

"We were really surprised," freshman goalie Conrad Taylor said. "We didn't think we'd get seeded that high at all."

Penn State will play the winner of Friday night's Tulsa/Michigan State game on 6 p.m. Tuesday at Jeffrey Field.

Of course, the deciding factor in the Lions' high seeding was by far their strength of schedule.

"We were shooting for the higher seed," coach Barry Gorman said. "That's why we put together a challenging schedule. I think it played a big part, from what I understand."

Penn State played four of the top 10 teams in the country -- losing only to conference rival Indiana, 2-1.

The Lions also competed against just three teams with losing records as exactly a dozen of their other opponents were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

And while the Lions' conference record (1-4-2) was far from impressive, Gorman's preaching on the talent of the Big Ten finally came to light.

The NCAA gave all but one of the seven Big Ten school, Wisconsin, an invitation to the NCAA Tournament as the conference sent a national-best
six teams to the 48-team field.

"Only one team isn't making it into the tournament," Gorman said. "And that speaks volumes about the strength of the conference from top to bottom."

The bad news for Penn State is that it may play a Big Ten opponent, Michigan State, in its opening tournament match-up.

The good news, however, is the fact that the Lions defeated the Spartans by a 1-0 score earlier this season -- for their lone conference victory in the only contest between the two.

Even if Tulsa comes out on top, Penn State has proven its squad can hang tough. It also beat the Golden Hurricane, 3-2, in late September.

Still, the Lions aren't about to get too cocky about that fact.

"We expect to win, but we can't assume the other team's just going to roll over," Taylor said. "We can't take them for granted."

The Lions were a bit disappointed after losing to Northwestern, 1-0, in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. After all, it was the first time in nine years that Penn State failed to see the second round.

But the Lions are going to have to put that loss behind them if they want to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

"I think it's a matter of looking at this as a completely different season," Gorman said. "Anything can happen."