It was obvious that Heather Tomko -- with a 1,000-watt smile beaming across her face -- didn't want the fun to end.

So, after rejoicing with her teammates on the field, she kept the celebration alive by racing toward the sideline and enjoying another embrace with the rest of the Penn State women's soccer team.

Moments earlier, Tomko had given the No. 2-seeded Nittany Lions the lead when she redirected junior midfielder Carly Bedesm's beautifully placed corner kick past the Niagara goalkeeper with less than 10 minutes remaining in Friday night's 3-1 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The goal was Tomko's first of the season and held up to be the first game-winning tally of her career.

"It was exciting," the senior defender said with that grin still glowing. "I like scoring, but I never score. I play defense and I never get to go up because [head coach Paula Wilkins] likes to keep me in the back on corner kicks."

On this particular corner, however, Tomko switched spots with senior defender Ali Krieger and was allowed to be in the box. The move paid off, as she positioned herself perfectly and capitalized on the kick.

The score was the icing on top of Tomko's unexpected offensive explosion and could have been her third of the game had two previous shots not rung off the post.

"Everyone kept saying after I hit the post that I was going to put one in," she said. "Luckily, I did."

Not only did Tomko's goal help Penn State advance to the second round, but it also highlighted the postseason's unexpected tendency for the nine-time defending Big Ten champions.

Since the first round of the conference tournament, six different players have registered goals for the Lions. Of those six, two scored their first goals of the year.

This growing trend is something new for Penn State and began two weeks ago when sophomore defender Jessie Davis' first career goal proved to be the game-winner against Michigan.

Davis scored again Sunday in Penn State's 2-0 win against Villanova in the second round.

With two goals in her last four games, she joked that she was zeroing in on Tiffany Weimer's career goal-scoring record.

"The best comment I ever heard through the grapevine was what Jessie said to Tiffany after her first goal," Wilkins recalled. "She said, 'I have 90 more to go.'"

Without a premier goal-scorer, like Weimer or Christie Welsh, as in years past, the Lions have used widespread offensive contribution to complement leading scorers Aubrey Aden-Buie and Katie Schoepfer this season.

This depth makes it that much more difficult to defend Penn State and could help it make a return to the College Cup.

"We have a balanced attack, so no team can focus on one specific thing," Wilkins said. "Everyone's involved; they're excited to score and they're getting into position to do that. Other teams can't focus on one person or another.

"They don't know where it's coming from -- sometimes I don't either."