Number of posts hit by the Penn State men's lacrosse team: one.

The scouting report for Ohio State goalie Bill Curry said to shoot for the posts early and often. Nittany Lions players limited the number of times the metal bars went "ding" after a collision with the ball. That means the shots went in, which amounted to a 14-13 overtime win Saturday over the Buckeyes, and possibly a turnaround.

Junior midfielder Pat Heim tallied five goals, including the game-winner, after coming into the season just trying to gain his stride after ending last year dinged up.

He started the season recovering from offseason surgery for a sports hernia. Up until the Ohio State game, he had only scored one goal.

"He was back to his old form," junior attacker Brian Boyle said.

After starting the year 0-2, Penn State (2-2, 0-1 ECAC) has charged back to .500 with wins over then-No. 14 Dartmouth, 11-10, on Mar. 8 and now the Buckeyes.

Heim, who was a preseason All-American with senior attacker Nate Whitaker and senior midfielder Greg Gurenlian, believed that the rest of the team is just starting to find its potential after integrating several younger players into the lineup.

"It's still early in the season," Heim said. "We have a lot of the season left to right the ship."

Much more was expected of the Lions coming into this season. Whitaker, who lost his 45-game point streak in the process of beating the Buckeyes, believes the team has the talent to go places. The prime location would be Philadelphia and Lincoln Financial Field, the location for the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.

But if that is to happen, a breakdown such as the one against Loyola on March 4 can't occur. Coming into the fourth quarter, Penn State had a 6-5 lead until the Lions faltered, allowing the Greyhounds to score four straight goals in Penn State's 9-6 loss.

They ended up taking home the "Big Ten Championship" of the ECAC having never been without that fictional crown. Ohio State is the only other Big Ten school with a Division I lacrosse program, and the Lions have never lost a game to them.

"We realized that most of the breakdowns were things that we were doing," Whitaker said.

"It wasn't because they had more talent than us."

Veterans like Gurenlian came through against the Buckeyes, winning 18-of-28 faceoffs, including the last one that eventually resulted in the overtime goal.

The go-to-player, Whitaker, may not have scored, but he opened up the shooting lanes for everyone else on the outside. That is significant enough considering the tri-captain has been battling through bone spurs in his ankle.

They can take Heim off of the list of wounded, but the Lions have already added sophomore Max Van Arsdale and freshman Chris Mulqueen to the subtractions that have thinned out the roster.

But after beating the Buckeyes, Penn State men's lacrosse assistant coach Guy Van Arsdale found a new word to describe his team.

"Our kids showed a tremendous amount of moxie," he said.

"We have kind of turned the corner here, and our young kids have learned to win games late."