As the final horn sounded, Warren Gross raced to the sidelines and leapt into his teammates' arms.
In just his fourth career start, the Penn State goalkeeper survived a late Indiana attack, as the Hoosiers tallied six shots in the closing minutes.
Fortunately for the redshirt freshman, none of the strikes got by him, as he and his Nittany Lion (5-9-3, 2-3-0 Big Ten) teammates then celebrated for the last time on Jeffrey Field this season after upsetting the No. 17 Hoosiers, 1-0.
"The defense made it just an easy night for me, I didn't have to do much," Gross said. "My defense dominated, made some great tackles, some great plays and just played smart."
That defense locked down Indiana (9-5-3, 2-3-0) all night despite missing its anchor, Andres Casais, who missed the game with mononucleosis.
The absence of he and a pair of attackers made the win all the more impressive to coach Barry Gorman.
"We were missing some kids on Wednesday night against Akron, and then we think we're fine," Gorman said of the team's drought of luck.
Vincent Salvatico provided the offense with the only goal it would end up needing.
After Matheus Braga's free kick from the top of the box was saved to the right, the junior forward was right there to chip in the follow in the 26th minute for his second goal of the season.
"Matheus had a great shot and we've been taught throughout the year just to follow up, get all the scraps," Salvatico said. "So I basically followed up far post and beat my defender there and sneaked it by the goalie."
What followed were a series of questionable no-calls that led to an abnormally intense and physical contest down the stretch.
The most noticeable sequence came in the 66th minute, when after being fouled by Penn State's Treavor Gelsinger, Indiana junior Ofori Sarkodie immediately rose to his feet and pushed the sophomore forward before shoving him in the face.
While the actions seemingly warranted a red card, referee Peter Dhima simply had the two shake hands before resuming play, which grew chippier as the time wound down.
Just four minutes later, Sarkodie was the only obstacle between Salvatico and a second goal, denying another score in a one-on-one battle downfield.
"I think that there were a couple questionable calls that could have changed the game even more for us," Salvatico said. "But then again, they had a couple calls that didn't go their way, so it goes both ways."
In the end, the extracurricular activity proved to be trivial, as the seniors walked off with their final home win.
For this class, it was a scene that has become increasingly familiar. The Lions have defeated Indiana in four of their last six meetings.
"It's impressive. At the end of the game I looked up and there were only [three] shots on goal," senior midfielder Ryan Badaracco said. "It's a testament, not just to our defense, but to all 11 guys out there."
