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came with a great approach. They didn't lose the fire, and I knew they were going to win one down the line." Steve Manuel after the game. The reason his players were able to persevere? Said O'Brien, "They're a bunch of f---ers." Mark Selders/Penn State Athletic Communications of early-season yips, supplied the goahead 37-yard field goal. Wisconsin kicker Kyle French pushed his field goal attempt wide left on the game's final play, and the celebration began. "It was a storybook ending," defensive tackle Jordan Hill said. "It was a perfect ending to a bad beginning. I felt the whole game it really told the story about what we went through all year, being knocked down early and being able to get back up." Bill O'Brien said much the same thing – only with more brevity and possibly more profanity – in a TV interview on the field It seemed miraculous at the time, and it seems even more so in retrospect. The Wolverines went on to reach the NCAA championship game, so the question has to be asked: How did Penn State, winless in the Big Ten at the time and headed for a lastplace finish in the conference standings, defeat one of the league's best teams? By continuing to play hard even after falling behind by 15 points in the second half and clamping down on the Wolverines in the final 10 minutes. The Lions outscored Michigan 31-12 to end the game, turning what could have been just another disappointing loss into an exhilarating 84-78 win that had students pouring onto the court afterward. "Words cannot express how I feel right now," coach Patrick Chambers said. "These kids came with a great approach. We were on a 14game losing streak and they still The Nittany Lions advanced to the College Cup final by defeating Florida State, 2-1, on an overtime goal by Christine Nairn. It was a thrilling moment for a program that had never played for the national championship before, but for sheer drama, it may actually have been eclipsed by a game that took place in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. On a cold November night at Jeffrey Field, Penn State and Michigan were still tied, 1-1, after regulation and overtime, so the game went to penalty kicks. The Wolverines converted their first two attempts against senior goalkeeper Erin McNulty, who in her career had never played in a game that went to penalty kicks. But trailing 20 and with no margin for error, Penn State got three consecutive saves from McNulty, while Maddy Evans, Tani Costa and Maya Hayes all made their shots to lift the Lions into the national semifinals. "I'm proud of this group," coach Erica Walsh said afterward. "Every time we have to face a different challenge, we overcome it with such grace and dignity." Yeah, they lost. But when the Nittany Lions welcomed American International to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion on Oct. 12, it was the culmination of a lovingly nurtured, long-in-the-making dream. It was Penn State's first NCAA Division I ice hockey game, coming two years after Terry Pegula's $80 million gift launched the men's and women's programs. The 1,300 fans in attendance went home disappointed, as Jon Puskar scored with 21 seconds left in overtime to give AIU a 3-2 victory. But it didn't take the Lions long to get their first victory. Indeed, the wait was only 24 hours, as Penn State turned the tables on AIU with a 4-3 overtime victory the next night.

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