Over?Did I say it was over?

Not really, but two weeks ago I kinda challenged the Penn State men's soccer team to step it up. Sort of.

I was curious. I couldn't seem to figure out what happened to the squad some picked to take the Big Ten crown for a second consecutive year.

I figured it out. They were wiped out. Depleted. Dead in the water. So riddled with injuries that you'd think last year's success was a deal struck with the devil, and this year... well, they didn't pay up.

So, like a lot of the fans, I nearly wrote the team off. I told myself that the Big Ten was far too difficult a test for a hobbled team to crutch its way through relatively unscathed.

I was wrong.

I'll say it again for ex-girlfriends everywhere, I was wrong and I shamefully admit it.

The team came out and shocked me this weekend.

Friday against No. 18 Akron, a game that ended in a double-overtime, 0-0 tie and made me late for my movie, they showed more heart than any game I've watched this year.

The offense, to be blunt, was anemic, as it had been all year. What was different about this game was the discipline. It seemed that in previous games, the offense's lack of production, coupled with the mounting injuries, fueled frustration and sometimes led to a breakdown and goals allowed.

The Akron game was different. Despite the offensive struggles, the midfield was solid, the defense was well... defensive, and goalkeeper Conrad Taylor was his spectacular self.

Even though the game ended in a tie, and I had to blow off my 10 p.m. showing, I left Jeffrey Field surprisingly satisfied. So pleased in fact, I found myself anxious to regale my friends with tales of defensive fortitude and mental toughness, even if I had to wait two-and-a-half hours to do it... they were at the movie.

Before Sunday's 3-0 win against Buffalo, I was thoroughly excited. Stoked, some might say, and I stayed that way the whole game.

I saw the same stonewall defense, and the offense, with the help of some unexpected stars, blow up. Simon Omekanda, having only scored once in 12 games, put two balls behind Buffalo goalkeeper Daniel Bell and assisted on another. The rest of the offense came from returning injured players, or young guys who stepped in to fill voids.

After the stunning of the Bulls (reach?), the attitude under the East stands was the best of the season.

It was infectious, and now I, like the team, am once again oozing with confidence.

I know they've been decimated by injury. I know that the two games this weekend were against Mid-American conference teams

And I know that the hole dug in the first half of the season might be too deep to claw out of.

But still, this weekend canceled any plans I might've had for a trip to negative town.

Holes in the lineup have been filled, and the chemistry is developing. As Omekanda said, guys coming back from injury are going to have to fight for their jobs and that can only help.

Head Coach Barry Gorman likes to maintain a consistent lineup, and it seems that he has it.

The turnaround is here. It began this past weekend.

Look for it to continue on the road in Wisconsin on Sunday, at home against Bucknell next week, and for it to peak next Friday against powerhouse Indiana, a nationally televised game.

Repeat Big Ten champs? Tough, but doable.

If they finally paid that devil, it's certainly not over.