If the Penn State men's soccer team wants to extend its seven-game win streak heading into the postseason, it may have to do it in a way it hasn't needed to the entire season -- penalty kicks.

Deciding a game by penalty kicks makes the postseason, specifically this weekend's Big Ten tournament, remarkably different than regular season contests. They are exciting for fans and a completely unpredictable different ballgame, especially for the teams.

"The best team doesn't always win," Penn State sophomore goalkeeper Conrad Taylor said. "That's a problem, I guess, when you've played 110 minutes already. You never know what's going to happen."

There are rules, of course: If the score remains tied after two overtime periods, the teams select five players each. They alternate shooting the ball from 12 yards out, and in the event the teams make the same number of kicks, they pick five different players and trade attempts until one scores and the other doesn't.

But that's about as predictable as it gets. Otherwise, the kicks are short moments of mayhem.

Though the Lions will try to win in regulation, they have legitimate reason to think about penalty kicks. Their past two seasons have ended on penalty kicks -- last year, to Tulsa in a first-round NCAA tournament game (4-3), and in 2003 vs. Indiana (4-1) in the Big Ten championship game.

If the regular season is any indication, the Lions may have even greater reason to think about the possibility. They've played in eight overtime games, going 5-1-2. Those two ties are far less than the seven Penn State had last year, but still an indication that it gets many results after the initial 90 minutes.

This year, Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman said he has "10, 12 guys" who feel confident in taking penalty kicks. But it's not just a matter of sending the team's top five scorers out to shoot, and it depends on the circumstances of the day.

"I think it's all gonna come down to that particular moment," Gorman said. "What's the fatigue factor like, what's the mental fatigue?"

He said players confident in their shooting ability and who want to take one are those who would represent the Lions -- it's part of the reason Penn State junior forward Omekanda said the players choose and not the coaching staff.

An in-game injury or physically grueling game can be a reason why a player doesn't take a penalty kick, or if he isn't on the field at the end of regulation. According to penalty kick rules, a player who has been substituted out cannot be one of the first five kickers.

But there's still an element of talent to it. A good shooter doesn't telegraph where he's shooting the ball and has accuracy and power. He also has a set way of kicking the ball.

All season long, the coaching staff has been telling the players to find one way to take the kick in practice, otherwise they could lose accuracy and effectiveness.

But in a playoff situation, the better kickers have composure to boot, which combined with the talent and confidence will determine who the Lions would select.

"If you're saving our best kicker for last, you may never have to use him," Gorman said.

In preparation, the Lions have practiced penalty kicks the last two days in practice and will make further assessments as the tournament approaches. But the pressure atmosphere of a playoff penalty kick can't be found in practice.

"It's totally different, so how do you replicate it?" Gorman said. "You don't, you just keep practicing. As much as you can, you try and put them into that situation."

Penalty kicks also create a totally different situation for Taylor, who has six shutouts on the year, a 0.79 goals-against average and played every minute of every game. Come tournament time, he could find the season condensed into seconds and twitch reactions.

Taylor is a shorter (5-foot-8) keeper than many, but trades that reach for quicker reactions. He said the best thing to do to defend penalty kicks is stay in position as long as possible, and not "play yourself out of it." Other than that, however, he's at a loss.

"I wish there were a better way to do it," Taylor said. "But after playing two hours, no one has much energy left for anything besides a shootout. It's kind of disappointing when it comes to that."

He did say some pressure is taken off the keeper as the striker is expected to score. With so many places to kick the ball at such a short distance, the onus is on the kicker. Still, the Lions playoff results could be determined by the short efforts of their kickers and keeper.

"It's a chance for the goalkeeper to be a hero," Gorman said. "But nobody expects him to save them. There's no doubt about it, it's a pressure situation."