Warren Gross has almost twice as many shutouts this year as the Penn State men's soccer team had victories last year.

That speaks volumes about the improvements the Nittany Lions have made after an injury-marred five-win 2008 season, but it also speaks to Gross' determination to get better after a redshirt

freshman season that saw him start six games and record one shutout.

"He came to me with what he felt needed work, with what I saw from my aspect, and he really wanted to put in the extra work to get himself to this level," assistant coach Ryan Defibaugh said.

In fact, Gross has accumulated enough shutouts (nine) to challenge the Lions' single-season record of 10, held by a trio of former Penn State stoppers. That total also tied him for tops in the Big Ten.

The most recent player to post 10 shutouts was Conrad Taylor in 2005. Gross' current total of nine has him in a tie for fifth place with three other players.

"We're pretty proud of it," defender Patrick Krispin said of the shutouts.

"Not only is it a great stat for Warren, but also for us just keeping our defense up. It's a real confidence booster for us, I think, and it gives us more motivation to keep that going, maybe break the record."

Additionally, with continued good health and performance, Gross could make a run at the all-time Penn State record of 28.25 shutouts by Greg Kenney from 1981-84.

Defibaugh said the goalkeeper, an imposing presence in the net at 6-foot-3, wanted to work on his quickness prior to this season, and that he's converted his improved footwork into more effective play out of the goal.

"What we talked to him about was the difference between shot-stoppers and goalkeepers," the coach said. "Shot-stoppers obviously just save shots. He wanted to be an all-around goalkeeper, and he has that in him where he can come out and take away opportunities before they become dangerous."

With the Lions poised to start their first NCAA tournament run since 2005, Gross and the defense have been an integral part of the team's success.

While the potent Lions attack led the Big Ten in goals with 36, the defense posted an overall goals against average of 0.91. With Gross in the net the defense was even better, as he posted the conference's third-best goals against average at 0.77.

Gross and the defense started the season hot, recording seven shutouts in the first 13 games. However, as they headed into last weekend's Big Ten tournament, the Lions hadn't recorded a shutout since Oct. 14 against Lafayette .

No shutouts? No problem.

Despite Mark Fetrow's red card against Michigan and Andy Parr's right medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury in the same game, the Lions snuffed out the Wolverines for a 1-0 double-overtime victory and then thoroughly dominated Michigan State for a 3-0 shutout.

Then, Ohio State had to use almost the full 90 minutes before finally scoring in the tournament title game.

Gross said he and the defense didn't change anything, but they did step up in the high stakes event.

"Our team definitely knew what we were playing for, because we weren't necessarily locked for the tournament," he said. " ... I think that we definitely had the little extra edge and urgency to really bunker down and play for everything."

And with Penn State set to face off Sunday against the winner of today's Maryland-Loyola (Md.) game, Gross will continue to be critical as the Lions embark on the road to the College Cup.