Like he had done many times before in his soccer coaching career, Marlon LeBlanc wandered the sidelines of Jeffrey Field Wednesday night, yelling at officials and trying to help his team along to a victory.

Only this time, LeBlanc wore a little bit of gold to go with his blue.

LeBlanc, who assisted Penn State head coach Barry Gorman from 2001 until 2005, accepted the head coaching job at West Virginia this August, just weeks after returning from the World Cup in Germany with his Penn State brethren.

LeBlanc helped the Mountaineers out of a tight squeeze, hired merely weeks before the season started after former coach Mike Seabold was not retained due to possible NCAA rule infractions.

Before the surprise hiring, LeBlanc was looking to lead the Nittany Lions to a second consecutive Big Ten Championship. Instead, his No. 9 Mountaineers (8-1-2, 4-0-1 Big East) appear headed to contend for a Big East title after last night's 2-1 win.

"It's so nice to come back and see some old faces," LeBlanc said. "But honestly, it's just another game in a long road."

Not surprisingly, LeBlanc's Mountaineers look very much like Gorman's Lions on the field. An emphasis on aggressive striking and goal-scoring makes for a stark contrast from last year's team, which concentrated on keeping the ball out of the net.

Penn State players noticed the similarities immediately.

"He knows us well and we know their tactics well," senior defender Markku Viitanen said. "We just didn't do well today."

The fowards joined the defenders in feeling exposed to their tendencies and weaknesses.

"He knew how to beat us, and he did," senior forward Simon Omekanda said. "They do the same things we do, they just did it better."

The Mountaineers had a counter move for everything the Lions tried in the second half, but LeBlanc insists his history with Penn State gave him no particular advantage that he wouldn't normally have against another opponent.

"I recruited most of the kids, but it really doesn't make it any easier in terms of preparing," LeBlanc said. "It's whether you go out and perform or not. I didn't overload my kids with information about Penn State's team."

Gorman commended LeBlanc for taking advantage of Penn State injuries and mistakes to position West Virginia for a win.

"There's no secrets, really," Gorman said. "With the amount of scouting reports nowadays there's no advantages [with LeBlanc's history]. He's such a great coach. He used everything to his teams advantage."

LeBlanc may have beaten Gorman head-to-head Wednesday night, but he said that he wouldn't even be in the position to do so without Gorman's teaching and experience.

"I owe a lot to Coach Gorman for allowing me to be a part of a great staff in a winning atmosphere," LeBlanc said. "The winning atmosphere and championship atmosphere has been what I've taken from Penn State the most. The exposure to the game on a worldwide standpoint he's given to me has broadened my knowledge of the game and is invaluable as a head coach."