The difference between a top-10 team and a team that just cracks the top 25 is usually talent, but talent wasn't the difference in the No. 22 Penn State men's lacrosse team's 14-6 loss to No. 10 Notre Dame Sunday. Discipline and execution were.

In the first half, the Nittany Lions proved they could play with the Fighting Irish. They outshot Notre Dame in the first quarter, 13-9, and trailed by only one goal heading into the second. The Lions again fought hard, getting great chances and running the offense well, but Irish goaltender Stewart Crosland made some spectacular saves and Notre Dame took an 8-5 lead into half.

"Early on it was an even game," Penn State coach Glen Thiel said. "We had great looks at the goal. [Crosland] played really well. He shut the door on us when we had some really good plays on offense."

In the second half, things looked as though the Lions were poised for a comeback as attackman Nate Whitaker scored his third goal of the game, cutting the Irish lead to two. But just 54 seconds later, Notre Dame attackman Pat Walsh put one by Penn State goaltender Josh LaGrow. Then the wheels came off for the Lions.

The Irish scored two more goals in the third quarter and Penn State was getting visibly rattled. On offense, the Lions stopped being patient and stopped running their plays. Instead, they looked undisciplined and frantic, making poor decisions and sloppy passes.

"A lot of different things came unzipped offensively," Whitaker said. "We were dodging with the wrong people, dodging at the wrong times and our shooting was off today. Our shot selection fell apart in the second half. That's what did it."

With the offense struggling to maintain its discipline, the frustration set in on defense and the penalties started to pile up.

Penn State finished with eight penalties for a total of seven minutes to just four penalties for four-and-a-half minutes for Notre Dame. The Irish converted on four of those eight Penn State penalties and closed out the game with six unanswered goals.

"[The Irish] have very dangerous shooters," Thiel said. "We couldn't afford to have that much of a disparity in the extra man situations."

The penalties especially hurt the Lions right now as they still are trying to overcome injuries on the defense. Freshman goaltender Chris Courteau, who did get some playing time in the fourth quarter, is still trying to recover from a broken thumb, and defender Matt Mulqueen, who has a broken foot, is not expected back until after spring break.

"Our man-down isn't even at full so it is important to stay out of those situations," Whitaker said.

That is where discipline and execution come into play. Thiel knows his team must be smarter and more organized in future games for the Lions to have a shot at getting to the NCAA tournament.

"We had too many stretches where we were a little disjointed," Thiel said. "We're not going to win any games playing like that down the stretch."