Three and a half minutes into the second half of Saturday's men's lacrosse exhibition game against Lehigh, Penn State goalie Drew Adams trotted off the field for the last time that day.

It may have seemed like an early exit, but Penn State coach Glenn Thiel wanted to give everybody a chance to shake off any rust from the offseason. Besides, the sophomore had done his job.

Lehigh's offense had steadily brought pressure to Adams and the rest of the Nittany Lion defense. Each time, Adams held his ground.

As his backup, Greg Boyle, took Adams' place in front of the net, the scoreboard showed that Penn State had already built up a 5-0 lead, one that they would not relinquish as they coasted to an 8-3 victory in Holuba Hall.

For Adams, this year's exhibition opener differed from last year's in many ways.

This time, he can draw upon experience. He knows the terrain. And he's got a couple of awards to prove it.

Before his first game last year with the Lions, Adams said that his mind was burdened by questions about overcoming nervousness and fulfilling the expectations on him and on the team.

"I felt like some of [the expectations] kind of fell on my shoulders," Adams said. "Coming in as a freshman, I felt like I had to live up to some things."

Now, Adams stands in the net with a little more ease. The ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year and Rookie of the Year after he helped Penn State to an 8-5 overall record by saving 60 percent of opponents' shots in 2006.

"It was more so, for me, a reflection of the whole team," Adams said of the awards. "Obviously you can't win an award without guys around you helping you out."

He turned away all five shots on goal against Lehigh while limiting second-chance opportunities, as the Mountain hawks did not score until after Penn State's reserves hit the FieldTurf.

After Saturday's game, one of Penn State's senior captains, Pat Heim, said that it was "a huge relief to have a goalie" like Adams.

"It gives us a lot of confidence," Heim said. "We don't want to take him for granted too much. We don't want to stop moving our feet and getting lazy on defense because we know Drew's gonna make a save. ...We have very good defenders out there."

Having a year under his belt has also helped Adams get to know the defense around him, something that he hopes will make it a little easier for the team this season, noting that defenses are only successful if they work in unison.

After Saturday's game, Thiel was happy with Adams' performance, and the defense overall.

"He did a great job making a couple tough stops he had to keep them off the board," Thiel said. "He's a key, there's no question."