After the Penn State men's lacrosse team fell behind by seven goals to Notre Dame late in the third period on Sunday, it was no surprise who sparked the Nittany Lions' late rally.

In a display of the senior leadership that is integral to the success of the 2006 Nittany Lions, senior co-captain Pat Heim scored two unassisted goals, one at the end of the third period and the other at the beginning of the fourth to start Penn State's five-goal comeback. Although Penn State couldn't muster enough to take back the lead, ultimately losing, 11-8, it brought the game within two goals with six minutes left and dominated the fourth period. The Nittany Lions (0-2) outscored the Irish 5-1, won three of five face-offs and grabbed 13 ground balls compared to Notre Dame's five in the fourth period alone.

But it was Heim's efforts that started it all.

"We just needed a spark," Heim said.

"We didn't have the ball that much in the second quarter. Our face-off game was struggling, but then midway through the third quarter I scored a goal, and I just came over to the sideline and the team was like, 'We need a spark. That's a good spark. We need to keep it going.' "

Heim was named a 2006 USILA Honorable Mention All-America and a first-team all-ECAC midfielder two years in a row. He begins the 2007 on the Inside Lacrosse All-America list and was recently named to the 50-player Tewaaraton Trophy list, given to the best Division I lacrosse player.

With this list of credentials, it only makes sense that the team would rely on Heim.

"Heim is as good a player as you'll ever see," Penn State head coach Glenn Thiel said before the season. "He's a great athlete, and he can do all the things you have to do in lacrosse to be a complete player, so we rely on him a lot in the midfield."

Last year, Heim finished with 17 goals and five assists, and already in two games this year, he has three goals and one assist.

Heim is not the only catalyst.

Thiel has stressed in preseason that the strength of the seniors will determine the strength of the team. He said that sometimes when seniors are not in the spotlight, they tend to give half-hearted efforts.

However, Thiel has been more than pleased with the contributions from the nine seniors on his team.

Captains Dan Saltsman and Matt Mulqueen both have been solid on defense, especially in the game Sunday. A four-year starter, midfielder Gil Pearsall scored two goals against Notre Dame, bringing his season total to three. The offense is awaiting the return of Brian Boyle, last year's team-leader with 37 points, 25 of which were assists. Not just Heim, but this entire core of seniors is expected to provide the steady leadership and work ethic needed to turn around the 0-2 start to the Penn State season.

"That's a great group," Thiel said. "It's a very good senior class, down through all nine kids, they're all part of what's going on and have a role and understand their role. Typically if you have a good senior class, you can have a good year. If you don't have a good senior class, you're usually going to struggle a little bit with leadership and all that. They're seniors that are very good players that makes the whole conglomeration a lot better and more effective."