The search for perfection is supposedly a futile task. Supposedly, perfection is impossible to achieve and to even try to attain it is often regarded as foolish.
But after beating Minnesota 1-0 Friday and then Navy 5-0 yesterday on Senior Day, perfection was as real as the Big Ten Trophy that co-captains Lindsay Bach and Ali Krieger proudly hoisted above their heads after yesterday's game.
By sweeping the weekend, the No. 1 Penn State women's soccer team finished the regular season undefeated for the first time in school history.
After the game, players posed for photographs and hugged their families, happy to savor the moment before their match up against Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
After a regular season in which the Nittany Lions (19-0, 10-0 Big Ten) were ranked No. 1 for the first time in history and won the Big Ten for eighth straight time, Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins admitted that this season was a little more special than others.
"It is," she said with a wry smile.
After starting the season 8-0 before conference play, the idea of a perfect season started to creep into the minds of the players.
"With every game, we go out there thinking we can beat anyone," senior defender Natalie Jacobs said.
For the second straight season, Penn State finished undefeated in conference play, and is currently riding a 28-game winning streak in Big Ten regular season games.
But it hasn't been easy. The team endured tough road trips to UCLA, Michigan and Michigan State, and their toughest battle came on the road against Minnesota.
Minnesota (9-7-2, 6-4-0) nearly ended the dreams of perfection for the Lions, forcing a scoreless game into double overtime. Hungry for the upset, the crowd subsequently began chants of "Overrated."
"We're just sitting there like, 'This is crap. We need to prove to them that they are wrong,' " Krieger said. "I look over at the clock actually, and meanwhile Allie Long was getting the cornerkick, and I was like, 'Shoot, there's like four minutes, 20 seconds left' or however many there was. I was like, 'We can't tie. This isn't going to happen.' "
And it didn't.
With four minutes left, Long placed a perfect cornerkick for Krieger.
"I just jumped up and I was like, 'This is it. This is my chance,' " Krieger said.
She made the most of it, scoring the game winner to preserve the undefeated season.
"Big players do big things at big times," Wilkins said. "Sometimes that's what a team needs."
The Lions took no chances against Navy (10-7-2, 2-5-0 Patriot League), dominating from the start.
Just seven minutes into the game, senior defender Janelle Hoak chipped a shot into the left side of the goal unassisted, putting the Lions ahead first and for good.
It was her first career goal, fitting to come on Senior Day.
After that, the Lions showed no mercy. Freshman forward Zoe Bouchelle scored twice and senior forwards Carmelina Moscato and Tiffany Weimer added one goal apiece in the rout.
In a short 12 years of existence, the Nittany Lions have become one of the premier soccer programs in the country.
Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley, on hand to celebrate the Big Ten crown, extolled the team after the game.
"Not only are they great soccer players, they're a fun group to be around," he said. "They've got great team chemistry, and also they're very good students. They really epitomize everything we want in a Penn State student and a Penn State team."
Despite a perfect regular season, Penn State knows it still has a month of soccer left, and with the postseason starting this week, anything less than perfect would end the Lions' hopes of a Big Ten Tournament title and a national championship.
"Right now is our celebration time," Weimer said.
"It's business time after we enjoy this for a while."
