After a quick advancement from being a substitute to earning a spot as a starter for the Penn State women's soccer team, recently injured freshmen Akilah Duggan will have to take a step back.

Duggan, who started the season coming off the bench for the No.3 Nittany Lions, impressed her new teammates and coaching staff with strong performances after entering the game well into regulation.

Scoring a goal in the team's 3-1 upset over No.2 UCLA was only the start of things, as Duggan was also solid against Texas six days later, taking a single shot and drilling it into the back of the net.

The loss in Austin, which snapped a 27-game winning streak for the powerhouse program, earned Duggan a starting spot in the following contest against Texas A&M.

"She's come in in key times for us; she has been able to add a spark for us," head coach Paula Wilkins said. "Her athleticisim is something that will allow her to get better and better. I think she has been doing a great job, helping the team survive here."

However, just as the season was starting to take off like a blazing penalty kick for Duggan, the freshmen star may miss time because of an injury that prevented her from participating in a full team practice yesterday.

Wilkins declined comment on the nature of the injury, but Duggan said that she should be ready to make a return to the field sometime in the near future.

"It's just a little bumps and bruises, it happens in this sport," she said, "I'm just trying to get better."

Even with a strong group of underclassmen, all capable of stepping up and helping the team work its way through a tough 2006 schedule, the Lions will greatly miss Duggan, whose goal off the bench was the only reason the team wasn't blanked against Texas last week.

"She has been fantasic," assistant coach Michael Coll said.

"She adds positive engery coming over the bench. She made it look very easy. For a young player to do that is very encouraging."

Although her success up to this point in the season has come as surprise to the young defender/middlefielder, Duggan has remained focused on improving, her health as well as her game.

"I don't think many people expect [to score two goals], but hey, it's how the game goes," Duggan said.

"It's a good thing, just keep getting better."

Part of Duggan's success thus far can be attributed to her work ethic even as a first year player for the team.

"Akilah definitely comes out with fire and determination," freshman defender Nicole Sherman said. "She is a hard worker and does everything to get the ball into the back of the net."

While it's unclear how long the leading scorer on the squad may be out, she is still optimistic for this weekend's matches against West Virginia and Bucknell.

According to Duggan, if everything works out and things go well in practice this week, she could be back in action as early as tomorrow.

So as the Lions adjust to the unfamiliar feeling of trying to win their first game since the season opener, Duggan could be on the sideline waiting for her chance to rejoin a team that has been becoming more comfortable and used to one another as she watches.

"The team is great, we have great chemistry," Duggan said.

"But scoring goals is a team effort, so it's not really me. I'm slowly getting into it."