There's a point where bad luck stops being coincidence and starts becoming downright frustrating.

The Penn State men's soccer team has reached that point.

As if the injured list wasn't long enough before Sunday's 2-1 loss to Ohio State, the Nittany Lions (3-7-1, 2-1 Big Ten) suffered another blow during the simplest of activities -- pregame warmups.

Sophomore Barkley Miller, the team's leading scorer with six points (two goals, two assists), went down with an apparent hip injury just minutes before the contest, leaving head coach Barry Gorman with an urgent decision to fill his starting lineup.

"It's disrupting," Gorman said. "We're trying to find people to fill holes. These are young guys giving and working hard on things in practice."

Starting freshman Daniel Martini -- the move Gorman would make -- paid off as Martini notched his first career goal early in the game, but that's all the offense the Lions could collect.

Martini, a natural midfielder, was forced to play forward because Omekanda is the only active striker on the roster thanks to the injury bug.

"We have to tweak the lineup again when someone who didn't know he's gonna start is starting," Omekanda said. "There's another [injury]. It's a tough season all-around so we have to adjust."

Even before the season started, sophomore forward Christoph Ascherl was lost with a leg injury in practice. Sophomore superstar Jason Yeisley and freshman Jacobo Vera have both gone down with long-term knee injuries in the past two weeks. Vera will likely need surgery, but Yeisley was walking around the sidelines on Sunday cheering on his team. Ascherl heard a speck of good news, when a second opinion showed that he will not need to be operated on, though working to get back into game condition will take some valuable time.

"[The injured players] gotta get back to where they were. They've gotta catch up to everyone else," Gorman said. "Of course, right now, that's not too hard. Everyone else is hurt."

What's more, it's not only the Jeffrey Field sidelines that highlight the Penn State walking wounded. The field itself is packed with players who just happen to be less injured than those who can't play.

Senior defender David Gray is playing with a pinched nerve in his neck. Midfielder Jeff Chambers continues to struggle through an injured thigh he suffered weeks ago. Captain Markku Viitanen battled his way back quickly from an ankle injury, but missed some time Sunday after violently knocking heads with a Buckeye defender. Most of these players could be getting a little more time to rest up if most of their teammates would be healthy.

Then, of course, there's Miller, too.

"It's a tough time of year to get back in match fitness when everyone else is out there going full guns," Gorman said. "You have to live with it and keep playing. This is where the more mature heads have to settle things down."

Omekanda offered his advice to his young cohorts.

"Just stay positive. That's the hardest part," he said. "Now we just gotta find a way to win."