Perhaps fate took a little retribution from the Penn State men's soccer team this season.

After an improbable, unblemished, almost magical run to the Big Ten championship in 2005, even more implausible circumstances prevented the same result from the 2006 season.

Following a 1-0 conference tournament loss Friday night to Indiana, the eventual Big Ten champion, a season in which the Nittany Lions (7-11-2, 4-4 Big Ten) limped from game-to-game finally, ended almost mercifully. A depleted roster couldn't gather enough gusto to knock off the national-power Hoosiers for the fourth consecutive time. But don't blame them.

Countless injuries impinged on the corps of strikers that was lined up to lead the preseason No. 5 team to a repeat championship. They tore at the structure of a team that was supposed to contend on a national level. And, perhaps worst of all, injuries spoiled a season in which four seniors, with the talent and leadership to carry a program all the way, deserved much better.

It was a brutal contrast from the vision David Gray, Simon Omekanda, Jeff Chambers and Markku Viitanen had of their swan song. This team was returning its top scorers, its star goalkeeper and a ton of personality. It had the experience, guts and the talent to go farther than it ever had.

But with a few fickle blows, injury took it all away.

Before the season, promising sophomore forward Christoph Ascherl was lost for the entire campaign. The team's leading scorer in 2005, Jason Yeisley, suffered a knee injury just as the Lions were gaining steam. Jacobo Vera, a freshman with the talent to fill Yeisley's shoes alongside Omekanda, was lost with a torn meniscus shortly after Yeisley went down. Barkley Miller, a defender who filled in up front out of necessity, was done for the year after a freak injury in pre-game warm-ups.

Though gravely frustrated and disappointed, the four veterans never once complained. As head coach Barry Gorman would make note of it time and time again, they "kept soldiering on."

"I am so extremely proud of [the team]," Gorman said. "The vets keep soldiering on. I'm a perfectionist, but I want them to do well. They're the ones putting in all the effort. They understand that you just can't replace the kind of guys that we lost, especially with freshmen. But credit to the freshmen, it's a learning experience for them."

Make no mistake, this campaign will be a tough pill to swallow for the seniors. But they should be proud of themselves. They never took shots at the younger, inexperienced players that couldn't produce like the experienced players, but their example will help those same players produce next season. The foundation for the Penn State men's soccer team is now laid for the future, and with the wounded making their return in 2007, the future is a bright one.

Though it's simply a total shame that the seniors won't be on the field to see it, they need to know that their hands -- or, perhaps more appropriately, their feet -- will be in on any success their team has in the near future.

So, borrowing another Gorman adage, "hats off" to you, David, Simon, Jeff and Markku. This young, talented team offers you its thanks for its inevitable success in the coming seasons.

Though you may be leaving, your patience and knowledge will bleed through to the next generation. You battled through everything ounce of bad luck tossed your way. Like it should have had this season, the team has the in-game know-how to go places.

As Coach Gorman insists, you guys are Penn Staters.

Through-and-through.