Winning streaks stay fresher, longer with Big Red.

Or at least when Big Red is your opponent.

The Penn State men's soccer team (7-6-2, 4-0 Big Ten) won its fourth straight game last night, 2-1, against Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

The victory puts the Lions over .500 for the first time all season, but may not have been the way Penn State envisioned it would get there.

After obtaining a two-goal cushion with goals from freshman forward Jason Yeisley and sophomore defender Geordie MacNeill -- both headers -- the Lions started to play a bit sloppier.

"The guys pretty much, not that we pulled our foot off the gas, but we kinda got lulled into their tempo of the game," Penn State assistant men's soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc said.

Cornell played the same way all game -- dumping ball after ball deep into Penn State's side of the field.

In the first half, a strong wind at the Big Red's back helped this style of play.

But whereas the Lions shut out Cornell (3-6-2, 2-1 Ivy League) in the first half, they weren't able to deal with the aerial assault as well in the final 45 minutes.

The Big Red's only goal, from senior forward Pape Seye at 63:37, came off a mad scramble off a ball the Lions couldn't get out of the box.

"The game kinda got ugly as it went on," LeBlanc said. "We just couldn't clear balls."

The Lions' defensive struggles were not helped when MacNeill, part of Penn State's strong back line, split open his head after attempting to head a ball in the air.

He exited the game with 15 minutes remaining and wouldn't return.

While the day ended on a sour note for MacNeill, it might have gotten Yeisley back on the scoring track.

He had not scored in the previous two games (after scoring four goals in the three before that) and LeBlanc said to have him hot would be great for the stretch run.

"He took a couple games off there, let a couple other guys score," LeBlanc said.

Penn State will focus on getting MacNeill healthy and everyone at his sharpest for the rest of its Big Ten schedule, which will resume this Sunday when the Lions face Michigan State.

But for how important the rest of the season is for Penn State, last night's game was quite different than the Lions' previous game against the Big Red.

Last year Penn State shut out Cornell, 3-0, and allowed two shots, one of which was on goal.

This year, both teams had 13 shots each. But the result was the same.

"They didn't pack it in by any means," LeBlanc said. "They weren't a great team, and we certainly didn't play our best game. But we got the win, and that's what's important."