Ali Krieger was a sophomore the last time the Penn State women's soccer team lost a game.
So when the scoreboard at Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, read that the No. 3 Nittany Lions were just beaten by the unranked Texas Longhorns, it didn't make sense to the senior All-American midfielder.
"I haven't really had that feeling for awhile," she said. "It felt different; it didn't feel right. We were all really upset."
And an upset is exactly what it was as Texas (2-1) recorded one of the biggest victories in school history with a 2-1 win against Penn State (1-1-2) on Friday night.
The loss snapped the Lions' 27-game unbeaten streak, which included last season's national semifinal run when Portland advanced on penalty kicks after both teams tied during regulation and through overtime.
Also, it assured that the season's first road trip would not be an enjoyable one as the team salvaged a 1-1 tie with No. 9 Texas A&M (3-0-1) in College Station on Sunday afternoon.
"We are a young team, and I don't think some of us were prepared to play. We just weren't doing the small things right," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said. "You have to credit Texas. We made two or three mistakes and they capitalized on all of them."
The Longhorns were opportunistic and efficient in front of the fifth-largest home crowd in school history.
Despite a 7-1 shot advantage, Penn State couldn't break a 1-1 tie as the first half came to a close. Then, Texas' Kelsey Carpenter tallied the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal early in the second.
A frantic push couldn't produce the equalizer for the Lions, who fell for the first time since the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
As team captain, Krieger rallied her teammates and found the silver lining in the loss.
"Luckily, it happened early in the season, rather than later," she said. "Everybody was down, but we had to move on and pick our heads up."
Penn State did just that as it looked to rebound against the Aggies.
Several key injuries forced Wilkins to change her lineup and utilize her bench as the Lions weathered an early offensive storm and broke a scoreless tie in the 51st minute.
Junior forward Aubrey Aden-Buie put a centering pass from Katie Schoepfer in the back of the net -- the first time Penn State scored first in a game this season -- and gave her team the lead.
With a 32-15 advantage in shots, Texas A&M provided the equalizer in the 72nd minute.
Both teams traded near misses in both overtime sessions, but neither side could produce a winning goal as time expired.
Freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who had a career-high 10 saves, turned in a solid performance for a defense that was pressured from the opening.
"I am proud of the way our team responded," Wilkins said. "To be able to absorb that type of pressure says something about us."

