The beat goes on for the Penn State men's soccer team, which has been seeded No. 11 for the NCAA championship tournament starting this Friday.

Since the top 16 teams receive a first-round bye, the Nittany Lions won't play a game until the second round on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at home. All games until the College Cup, soccer's equivalent of the Final Four, are played at college sites.

The Lions will face the winner of Seton Hall and Hartwick, who the Lions defeated on Nov. 4, 3-0 -- a fact that could offer an advantage. But Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman said every tournament has its Cinderella.

"Everybody wants a real easy bracket," Gorman said. "But there's not an easy game."

Of particular note is the Lions' potential matchup with Indiana, who they would have to beat a third time this season to get to the College Cup. Indiana is seeded third, and both teams are in the same quarter of the overall bracket.

The top seed went to Maryland, who the Lions beat on Sept. 21, while New Mexico was seeded second. The Lobos beat the Lions, 2-0, on Sept. 2. Other top-16 seeds the Lions have played include No. 5 UCLA (0-1 loss), No. 9 Akron (1-2 loss) and Virginia Tech (0-0 tie).

Awards

It was a weekend for wrapping all things Big Ten, as the conference handed out its individual and all-conference honors, including Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman as the coach of the year and eight other Nittany Lions collecting awards.

Junior forward Simon Omekanda, senior midfielder David Walters and sophomore goalkeeper Conrad Taylor all were selected for Big Ten first-team honors. Second-team honors include freshman forward Jason Yeisley, senior midfielder Brian Devlin and junior defender Markku Viitanen.

Yeisley was also unanimously named to the conference's All-Freshman team, joined by Christoph Ascherl. Penn State's total of 10 honors tied for most in the conference with Indiana, who is emerging as the Lions' primary rival on the field and in the trophy case.

Junior defender David Gray rounded out the list, as he was awarded the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Penn State. A player from each of the seven conference men's soccer teams is given this award.

Gorman's award was unanimous, appropriate for guiding the Lions through an undefeated Big Ten season, all the way through the Big Ten tournament. It is his first selection since becoming Penn State's head coach in 1988. But he said he's more satisfied with the team's other awards.

"I'll gladly at any time swap Coach of the Year ... for some other players getting recognition," Gorman said. "It's nice to go into the record books, it's nice to get that recognition from your peers. But after a while, the trophy collects dust on the mantle piece."