Last fall, the Penn State men's soccer team won 10 games in a row, a streak that won it a conference title.

This year, the No. 13 Lehigh team that comes into town for a 7 p.m. showdown at Jeffrey Field tonight does so riding a nine game run of its own.

After losing their second game of the year, the Golden Eagles (13-1-1) have steadily climbed the national rankings, winning 12 of 13, only tying Binghamton 0-0 last month.

If the Nittany Lions' defense has been stout this season, then Lehigh's has been absolutely ironclad. Goalkeeper Jim Morahan has about as much passage as a demilitarized zone, allowing only four goals all year while nailing down 12 shutouts, including a current streak of six.

Granted, Lehigh hasn't played quite the same level of competition Penn State has. Its last few wins came against teams like Colgate and Army, but the statistics are pretty daunting.

The Eagles have three players either ahead of or tied with Penn State's leading scorer Simon Omekanda, including sophomore transfer from Virginia, Jim Taranto. The sophomore has seven goals and three assists this year, numbers that would put him first and second, respectively, for the Lions.

Penn State had a rare Sunday off following what was without question its biggest win of the year, a 1-0 shutout of rival and then-No. 9 Indiana at Jeffrey Field Friday night.

After the season-defining win, with the Big Ten tournament approaching and only one conference game remaining, the feeling among team members is that a repeat championship run is certainly not out of the question.

Penn State is currently third in the Big Ten rankings, behind Wisconsin and Indiana. However, despite the disappointment this season has been, if the Hoosiers and the Badgers tie Friday night, the Lions can lock up the conference regular season title and the top seed for the tournament with a win at Michigan.

"We have known the whole season that we have a good team," senior captain Markku Viitanen said. "Now, we have a little bit more confidence, and we feel like we're gonna go into the Big Ten and bring it home."

The team might not be on a double-digit winning streak, but tonight's game could signal the type of surge needed for a title repeat.

Head Coach Barry Gorman has said for months his team can still win the conference tournament, and was upbeat and encouraged Friday night.

"It's a great confidence booster for the guys," Gorman said, reinforcing his belief that he has a championship squad.

"Now, they will believe it," he said.