Most teams would be intimidated when facing a Big Ten opponent, regardless of the sport.

But when the Penn State men's soccer team stepped onto the field in Evanston, Ill., it thrived off playing an intra-conference team by beating No. 14 Northwestern 2-1 yesterday, continuing its domination against Big Ten opponents in the last two seasons.

The Nittany Lions (3-6-1, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated Michigan State 3-1 at Jeffrey Field last Sunday and yesterday they faced their second Big Ten team of the year.

After winning last year's Big Ten Championship, the Lions have played at their best when facing in-conference opponents.

Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman refuses to believe that his team plays at another level just against Big Ten teams. But he attributes his team's strong play to finally finding a lineup that works well together.

"All of our opponents this season have been very good," Gorman said. "It's just a case of getting a settled lineup on the field."

With All-Big Ten forward Jason Yeisley sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury, the Lions have been shuffling around the lineup looking for someone else to gel with senior Simon Omekanda, the team's leader in points.

Freshman Frank Costigliola was one such player that Omekanda found with a pass that he put in the back of the net.

"In that first goal Simon just made a move and gave a great ball to Costigliola," Gorman said. "He took the pass and put it in the goal."

With goalie Conrad Taylor keeping the Lions in the game with strong play in net, the Lions were also helped with a late goal from sophomore Barkley Miller.

Miller's goal with 10 minutes remaining in the game gave the Lions a 2-0 lead that the Wildcats could not overcome.

More importantly on Miller's goal was the assist by senior defender Markku Viitanen, who has recently come back from an ankle injury.

After the scoreless first half, Gorman put a lineup on the field who put themselves in position to score. It was something that the Lions have been doing successfully against Big Ten teams.

"We put a lot of players out there to see what works," Gorman said. "We get a lot of effort out of these guys every game."

The win for the Lions keeps them undefeated in Big Ten play and, just like last year, makes the rest of the season seem more optimistic.

With out-of-conference West Virginia coming to Jeffrey Field on Wednesday night at 7:30, the Lions will have to wait until Sunday to face another Big Ten opponent.

The players may look like they play against Big Ten teams differently, but Gorman sees every opponent as equal.

"A win's a win," Gorman said. "That's just the way we are looking at."