A regular season full of injuries, ineptitude and untimely, bad luck is finally over for the Penn State men's soccer team.

With a 1-0 loss at Michigan on Saturday night, the Nittany Lions (6-10-2, 3-3 Big Ten), a veritable juggernaut just two months ago, failed to defend 2005's regular season Big Ten championship this season.

The loss was an all-too-fitting punctuation mark on the 2006 season, in which a once-potent offense was completely absent on the field, as it was bruised, bandaged and looking on helplessly from the sidelines.

"The guys were up for the game, they couldn't have played any harder," head coach Barry Gorman said after the loss.

"Our problem is we are lacking the guys that can put the ball in the back of the net."

The numbers really explain the plight of the Lions. Senior defender and captain Markku Viitanen led Penn State in shots with three, hoping to give it a spark up front that he couldn't give from his normal defensive position. Freshman midfielder Daniel Martini also tallied three shots.

"[The defenders] can't be asked to do it at both ends of the field," Gorman said.

"Also, you can't depend on freshmen to carry a team and win championships for you. It's easy for new guys if the team is doing well."

Michigan's lone goal came early in the second half when senior defender Kevin Hall beat Conrad Taylor in the 57th minute. Hall's score broke a four-game offensive drought for Michigan and gave the Wolverines (6-9-4, 1-2-3) a lead they would not relinquish en route to their first conference win of the season.

Looking on the brighter side, however, the Lions can hope to erase the underwhelming season from their memories and look to this week's Big Ten tournament, a much-needed tabula rasa for them.

However unlikely it may seem, this team, still looking to prove itself, can successfully defend last season's tournament championship.

In the conference, Penn State has been competitive in every contest and knows it can run with the best.

Indiana, which clinched the No. 1 seed in the bracket with a Friday win against Wisconsin, lost to Penn State last week at Jeffrey Field.

The Lions will be seeded fourth, and will play their first-round game against fifth-seeded Northwestern on Thursday. Penn State topped the Wildcats 2-1 last month in Evanston, Ill.

Gorman is hopeful freshman striker Jacobo Vera, one of the many missing goal threats, will be able to make the trip to Columbus, Ohio, but said that Vera's minutes will be limited if he plays at all. Vera had surgery for a torn meniscus last month.

"My hat's off to the guys," Gorman said.

"You feel for them because we've got all the components there except for the goal-scoring. The guys are injured. That's a fact. It's obvious. But we're not using it as an excuse. We're living with our lumps. But the tournament is wide open and anyone can win it."