Losing a national championship game can put a damper on any season.
While the Penn State field hockey team is disappointed it couldn't come away with the national title, when it looks at the season in retrospect, it is happy that it made it to the championship game.
It is this perspective that helped the Nittany Lions (16-8) see the positives despite a tough 3-0 loss to North Carolina in the national championship game on Nov. 18 in College Park, Md.
"We had such an up-and-down season. We had some things to figure out," senior Kiersten Wood said. "The whole team came together. I'm so proud of what we accomplished. No one expected us to be there except us."
The loss is nothing to be ashamed about, as the Tar Heels completed an unbeaten season for its fifth national championship and first since 1997.
Regardless, the fact that unseeded Penn State made it to the finals is an accomplishment in itself considering the tough road through the tournament.
Penn State lost seven regular season games -- all against top-10 teams. Included in those losses were a 3-1 home defeat against Connecticut and a two-game losing streak to North Carolina and Michigan, during which the Lions were outscored by a combined 7-0 and were held to four shots.
But there was a specific game that the team points to as the turning point.
In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Penn State fell behind, 1-0, to Virginia at halftime. But three consecutive goals by three different players propelled the Lions to a 3-2 win.
"It was after the overtime [loss] to Michigan," Wood said.
"It was the complete game [against Virginia]. We were down and got our act together. We played great."
The Lions followed that win with two victories over national powers Maryland and Wake Forest, holding both teams scoreless. Especially impressive is that the Terrapins or the Demon Deacons won the national championship every year since 2002, with Maryland winning the last two.
Though Penn State lost to the Tar Heels, the tournament run was special to the seniors.
When this year's seniors arrived at Penn State, their first season ended without a NCAA bid. The next two years would see the team progress to a first-round tournament loss and a second-round birth before falling to Maryland. And this year's run means the Lions advanced further each year the last four years.
It is this progression through all four years that made the seniors look back and see 2007 as a success.
"Our overall drive and motivation -- heart," Wood said when asked what made this team special. "You could see it during spring training. The girls were ready to fight, ready to work. It's the inner desire."
