Injuries are a part of every sport; some have absolutely no effect on a team, while others leave a big, gaping hole in your lineup.

The Penn State men's soccer team knows the latter all too well.

A big part of last year's offense, which wasn't exactly world-beaters to begin with, was then-freshman Richard Costanzo. Costanzo was able to translate his game almost seamlessly from high school to college and scored four goals and assisted on seven.

"He's a great one-on-one player," Penn State coach Barry Gorman said. "He's a natural goal scorer."

In Costanzo's absence through the first four games, things have not fallen into place quite the same for the rest of the Nittany Lions this season. They have scored only one goal in 380 minutes and have nine shots on goal.

Costanzo hasn't seen a minute of action so far because he is recovering from a torn meniscus that he suffered while training with the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

So now the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year has to sit on the bench and agonizingly watch the Lions futility on offense.

Is it frustrating?

"Yes," Costanzo said. "I want to be out there helping my teammates, but I also want to avoid coming back too early and re-injuring my knee."

Now, granted Penn State has shown signs of improvement -- eight shots on goal in the last two games. But that doesn't change the fact that the second most accurate shooter from last season (29 shots, 13 on goal) is sitting at home while the team is unable to finish its shots.

The loss of Costanzo goes past just statistics, it has affected how the Lions run their offense, which can be a dangerous thing to a team as young as Penn State.

"It makes us change our formation," junior forward Simon Omekanda said. "With him in the line-up, we play three dangerous forwards."

The Lions typically play a three forward front, with four midfielders and three defensemen, which is better known as a 3-4-3.

The three forwards would consist of Costanzo, freshman Jason Yeisley, and Omekanda, but without Costanzo, the Lions have been forced to play with just Omekanda and Yeisley up front, changing their formation to a 4-4-2.

So exactly how do you replace a player that has been named to the under-18 U.S. National Team?

"We just have to adjust," Omekanda said.

And adjusting is what Gorman has tried to do. He is plugging in other players to try and fill the void left by Costanzo spot, most notably freshman Christopher Ascherl, but no one has steeped up.

Now the waiting game begins, Costanzo is sitting in State College rehabbing his surgically repaired knee, while the Lions struggle to score goals.

All Penn State can do is wait for him to learn his fate on Oct. 1, which is when he sees Pittsburgh knee specialist Dr. Christopher Harner.

In less than three weeks, the Lions will know whether this is a just a problem or a disaster which looms over the rest of the season.