No one knows how the ball stayed out of the net.

With the Penn State men's soccer team up 2-0 on Michigan State midway through the second half yesterday at Jeffrey field, the Spartans sent a ball into the crowded box in front of Penn State goalkeeper Conrad Taylor.

Green and white jerseys crashed the net, and in an eight second span that seemed like an eternity, the ball bounced back and forth from head to head without so much as touching the turf.

Astonishingly, it did not cross the line into the goal before Taylor hauled it in and quickly cleared it past midfield.

"That was insane," Taylor said. "I have no idea how that ball didn't go in. We did a good job of just getting our guys to the ball."

Ending the volley in front of the net was one of several aesthetically pleasing saves the senior keeper made yesterday afternoon in the Nittany Lions' 3-1 win to open the 2006 Big Ten season.

The best came less than ten minutes after the half, when Spartans forward Kenzo Webster chased down a through ball placed behind the Lions' defense and broke in on Taylor all alone.

"The ball was bouncing so I had to stay on the line so he couldn't put it over me," Taylor said. "He came in the box and it settled a bit, so I got to come at him."

Taylor came out of the net straight at Webster and slid, deflecting a hard shot with both hands wide to the left.

"My thing is, if I stand him up then I make the save most of the time," Taylor said. "So I just stood him up and he put it in a place I could save it."

Those two saves were eventually the difference in the game that saw Penn State's offense finally generate a spark, exploding for three goals on the afternoon, a season high.

Taylor, who said it's much easier to play with a potent offense in front of him, was praised after what was arguably his best game of the young season.

The team only regretted it couldn't help him collect the shutout, under pressure from an intense Michigan State offensive attack that saw shot-after-shot on goal.

"Unfortunately we didn't have a clean sheet," said forward Simon Omekanda, who scored a goal and beautifully set up another.

"I feel bad for him because he did a great job. He's gonna make the saves. We've got to do our stuff on the other end."

"That's what he's there for, first and foremost, and I think he's getting over his rust," head coach Barry Gorman said, referring to Taylor's summer spent in a boot after foot surgery.

Gorman added that Taylor has not just reached the level he was at before he sustained the injury, but he's beginning to surpass it as well.

"I think he's starting to come into his own," he said, "and he can get back to real match-fitness for a goalkeeper."

The Lions know that their goalkeeper is talented, and can get even better.

"It's no surprise," Omekanda said. "[Michigan State is] a great team but we expect that from him."