Though the embers have cooled on the 3-1 loss to Creighton that ended the Penn State men's soccer team's season Nov. 27 at Jeffrey Field, the fire is not out completely. And if you blow enough oxygen on it, you inevitably get some sparks.

Many of them flare up as questions, emotions or explanations. Why did the Nittany Lions (13-7-2, 8-0 Big Ten) lose a game at home, when they hadn't since Sept. 19? How did they surrender more goals than they had all year, and shut out the opponent in five of the six previous games? How big a disappointment is it?

"It was really shaping up to be our season," junior forward Simon Omekanda said. "It was looking like we were going to win everything this year."

Penn State was 2-5-2 before its momentous 2-1 overtime win at Indiana in September, which was one win in an 11-2 run during the next two months. The turnaround might have suggested the stars were aligned. But in the 90-minute stretch vs. Creighton, several issues conflated to put the fire out.

At first appearance, the game looks like a breakdown on the defensive front. Penn State actually held an early advantage after junior midfielder Jeff Chambers scored at 35:29.

But just seven minutes later, Creighton's Sam Eid scored what many players said was a soft goal. A Bluejays corner kick was sent into the box, controlled by Creighton and booted past Lions goalkeeper Conrad Taylor.

Senior midfielder Brian Devlin said it was a "botched clearance" when clearing the ball was something Penn State was doing really well. But in the NCAA Tournament third-round match, that skill wasn't in top form.

"That's something that should never happen," Devlin said.

Part of the reason might have been the presence of Creighton forward Byron Dacy, who scored the Bluejays' second goal on a penalty kick and led his team in points (27) on the season with nine goals and nine assists.

Dacy stands 6-feet tall, which isn't taller than many of the Lions' veteran and stalwart back-line members, but junior forward Simon Omekanda said he presented something Penn State hadn't seen too much this year -- a forward who dominated in the air.

"He basically won every header," Omekanda said. "We really struggled with that. We never really quite adjusted to that."

Omekanda also said he won balls defenders junior Markku Viitanen and freshman Geordie MacNeill usually win.

"Our backs are such a force that we haven't played against an attacker that can equal them in the air," Taylor said.

Once Dacy scored his goal in the 59th minute, the chase was on. Penn State had to rush people forward to try to tie the score. Omekanda said the Lions started to play well only at that point, after Creighton came out of the half dominating. But the only score further was the Bluejays' third, a product of the Lions pressing.

"Every mistake we made on defense they capitalized on," senior midfielder David Walters said. "None of their goals were really that spectacular."

You'd have to overlook all other aspects of the game to put the blame entirely on the defense. The offense, in general, has been lackluster all year long, and it showed vs. Creighton. Penn State could have used a fast start to give the team a distinct advantage.

Instead, it was the Bluejays who came out "playing for their lives," according to Omekanda. While the Lions would fight until the end of the game -- the final whistle of 2005 -- some of the good fortune they were having didn't show up.

On average, in its wins dating back to Sept. 30 vs. Indiana, Penn State scored the deciding goal in the 68th minute. That's a whole lot of soccer to pass by before putting the ball in the net, whether or not you intend to do so.

The team had been living somewhat on the edge, and for the first time in a while, Omekanda said, "we fell on the short end of the stick."

"I didn't think we played well offensively all season," Devlin said. "It was the same thing with Seton Hall [whom Penn State beat in the second round]. We came out a little slow."

And a little uncoordinated. The players weren't tripping over their cleat laces, but this was not tightly woven soccer. Which is why, perhaps, Penn State coach Barry Gorman brought in the substitutions he did.

Gorman used sophomore midfielder Yan Carvalho and freshmen Christoph Ascherl and Barkley Miller as substitutions. They had two goals and four assists between them, and played in eight (zero starts), 20 (15 starts) and 18 (five starts) games respectively.

While not bad soccer players, they are far from the usual suspects. And using them, according to Devlin, was sketchy.

"That hurt us a lot, put in some weaker players," Devlin said. "He's been one to talk about experience, using experience. To do that kinda caught me off guard. If you're going to put those guys in, you expect them to do the job."

Taylor echoed Devlin's statements, but with a caveat.

"I wouldn't have made them as a coach," Taylor said. "But as a player, it's not my place to question them."

But when the offense is stalled, and you need a result, what's the harm in trying something that can help you get it? Or at least, throw every idea out there, as Walters said, the coaches did.

"Of course you're going to try to put some subs in," Walters said. "It showed a little bit, but in the end, I don't think that caused us to lose."

Just what caused them to lose was a combination of things -- slightly sub-par defense, a slow-to-ignite offense and maybe substitutions. If the Lions hadn't leaned on their defense for so long, which Taylor said he couldn't have been happier with. If the offense straightened itself out.

If only, they might have beaten a Creighton team that a few players said was the better team on the day, not the season.

In trying to explain why Penn State bowed out of the NCAA Tournament, the only consensus is you can't pin it on any one thing.

"Everybody was really pissed off," Devlin said. "I had a couple guys come up to me and say, 'Sorry,' but it's a team effort."

But to have to come to that, for some, after a third-round loss, is a disappointment.

"It definitely wasn't our best game of the season, but it wasn't our worst game," Walters said. "It's hard to take when it's the Sweet 16. From an objective point of view, people would say we did really well. Personally, we had much higher expectations, at least going to the Final Four [College Cup]."