The Rec Hall locker room of the Penn State women's soccer team went through a plethora of emotions yesterday afternoon.

Calmness eventually gave way to excitement, was replaced by nervousness, and finally culminated in happiness as the Nittany Lions learned that they had earned a No. 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA National Tournament. The announcement was the highlight of their day, while the build-up was the most nerve-wracking.

"Come on. We don't care," one player said of Peter Forsberg's contract negotiations with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Meanwhile, Akilah Duggan and Katie Schoepfer had a sword fight with two umbrellas, Allie Daus caught up on some reading and Aubrey Aden-Buie enjoyed a snack as she iced her knee.

Across the room, Heather Tomko, Zoe Bouchelle, Kaleen Adami and Jean Rettig sat comfortably on a couch while a few players were sprawled across the floor.

"It is the same feeling every time," said senior captain Ali Krieger, who had already sat through three selection shows in her career. "We are all so excited, and I am very excited just to finally make it to the first-round game."

One-by-one and sometimes in bunches, the Lions -- still beaming from their Sunday victory against Illinois in the final of the Big Ten Tournament -- promptly entered the locker room and grabbed a spot in front of the big-screen television tucked in the corner.

Patiently, they watched and waited for ESPNews to reveal the bracket for this year's tournament.

By 3 p.m., the room was full, complete with a camera crew. It would be another 40 minutes before the announcement, but the tension was already palpable.

A message on the dry-erase board read "6 games to a national championship," and Penn State waited to find out which team that journey would begin against.

Then, the moment arrived.

In less than five minutes, ESPNews' team of anchor Dari Nowkah and soccer analyst Wendy Gebauer-Palladino ran through the 64-team field. Their announcement was accompanied by a raucous cheer from the Lions and was followed by a brief speech from head coach Paula Wilkins.

"This is doable," the 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year stressed to her team. "You guys are in a good bracket; you should be excited about this."

They were.

Penn State will serve as host for its first-round game against Niagara, at 5 p.m. Friday at Jeffrey Field.

If the Lions advance, they will face the winner of Toledo-Villanova in the second round. The game will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, also on Jeffrey Field.

"We are going to focus this week on our first game and try to play tough," Krieger said. "One game at a time will be our thought."