You could see it in the eyes and hear it in the sigh of freshman defender Maura Ryan.

You could hear it in the crackling, despondent voice of senior defender Ali Krieger after the game on Oct. 8.

The 3-2 loss to Illinois was not only a glaring lowlight of the 2006 season, it was also the incentive needed to bring the Penn State women's soccer team together.

Without such a catalyst, the Lions may not have hoisted the Big Ten Championship trophy for the ninth straight year Sunday. Rather, they may have continued on their path to a less-than-fairy-tale year with a not-so-happy ending.

Until the Illinois game, the season had been rocky enough. With a less-than-impressive 4-2-2 out of conference schedule, the Lions saw their first home loss since 2004. Granted the team was young -- only three seniors were consistently in the starting lineup -- but the Lions were off to their worst start in team history, winning only two of their first six games.

After a few unconvincing wins against unranked opponents, the moment of truth came with the Illinois debacle. Leading 2-0 at halftime, the team gave a lackluster performance in the second half, getting beat to the ball and playing with low intensity. Illinois scored three goals in that half and ultimately took the win. Penn State dropped out of first place in the conference, and Illinois had appeared to finally topple a soccer dynasty.

"I'm extremely disappointed with how the team responded in second half," head coach Paula Wilkins said after the loss. "They were very good, and we did not respond. We're immature. We're lacking leadership on the team right now."

Nothing seemed to be going right for the Lions. Just when it appeared that the season had spiraled downhill, this loss had provided the motivation needed to put together a winning season.

"We realized, 'Wow, we could lose the Big Ten. We could break the tradition,'" Ryan said. "[The loss] was an extra drive to strive for the Big Ten and keep the season going strong and finish how we did. Everyone started to step up after the loss to Illinois."

Almost instantly, the Lions' attitude changed. That very next game, the team began a five-game shutout streak with a 2-0 victory against Purdue, and also started its current six-game unbeaten streak. After being dissatisfied with the Lions' preparation for the games, Wilkins began to concentrate more closely on the team's weaknesses in practice, including the defense. This focus and attention to detail had been missing from the first half of the season and was a huge factor in the West Virginia and Illinois losses.

Although the offensive production remained relatively the same, the work paid off, and the back line finally began to solidify. Freshman keeper Alyssa Naeher exuded the confidence of a seasoned veteran, jumping for the ball in traffic and directing her teammates from the back, drawing comparisons with last year's All-America keeper Erin McLeod. Naeher played more than 500 consecutive minutes without surrendering a goal, a sharp contrast to the first game of the year against UCLA when she surrendered a goal only 27 seconds into the first half. Wilkins' mood in post game interviews had changed from one of concern to one of pride and satisfaction.

"After we lost, we woke up and got it together," sophomore midfielder Allie Long said. "We brought a different game against Purdue and we played awesome, so that was a definite turning point."

It was this failure that bred their ultimate success.