After removing the varsity "S" blankets they received recognizing their four years of varsity play, senior co-captains Brian Devlin and David Walters took the field Friday night to a standing ovation for the final regular season home game of their careers.

"This was the most nervous I have ever been," Walters said.

But those nerves were history as soon as the referee blew his whistle to start the game.

By the time the two seniors left the field to another standing ovation with 1:20 remaining in regulation, the Lions had been able to secure a 3-0 victory over Hartwick.

After the game, Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman commented about Devlin and Walters.

"They have meant an awful lot because they have been here from the get go," Gorman said about the senior duo.

Both players have started since their freshman year.

Junior forward Simon Omekanda also recollected the leadership and closeness of the co-captains.

"You can just see the love on and off the field," Omekanda said.

But the two seniors were not reminiscing about the past; instead they were looking ahead.

"I hope it's not our last game here," Devlin said.

He was referring to the Lions' chances of hosting an NCAA tournament game at Jeffrey Field, which would give the duo at least one more game at home. The first-round sites will be announced Monday.

Until then, Devlin and Walters will be focusing on leading the team into the Big Ten tournament this weekend at Northwestern.

The Lions have earned the No. 1 seed, which means they will have a first-round bye and would potentially only have to win two games in three days, rather than three games in a stretch of four days.

A good performance at the tournament would also increase the Lions' odds of earning a home game for the first round of the NCAA soccer tournament.

Whether or not the two seniors have played their final game at Jeffrey Field remains to be seen. Nevertheless, if Friday's game was the last at home for the co-captains, they were content with the results.

"We played well," Devlin said. "We are still going hard."