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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (U-WIRE) -- Barry Gorman has been seeing red for three seasons too long now, and he's sick of it.

It's Hoosier red, and it's been permeating through his mind ever since Nov. 16, 1996, when Indiana sent the Penn State men's soccer team home, 3-2, on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

It was supposed to be the last time the Nittany Lions would surrender such a close game to such a heated conference foe.

Instead, it was the first of eight straight victories the Hoosiers would reel off against the Lions in the next three years, by a combined score of 20-5.

This year, however, it looks as if Penn State will have its best chance to end that three-year-long losing skid. The Hoosiers have graduated most of the players that helped it to the past two NCAA Championships, and Indiana coach Jerry Yeagley will have to deal with one of his youngest squads in years.

And besides, the schedule gods set this year's Penn State-Indiana game at Jeffrey Field for the first time since Oct. 4, 1996 -- where the Lions tied the Hoosiers, 1-1.

"It's going to be nice to have them at home," Gorman said. "Home-field advantage means a lot.

"People will say they have graduated all their stars," he added, "but Indiana is always tough. That is going to be a good game. That's one of many games on our schedule. We are not going to build it up as the be all and end all. We're just going to take it as it comes."

Indiana, as Gorman said, will not be the only opponent the Lions face this year. Should they want to improve on their 19-4-1 record (with three of those losses coming at the hands of the Hoosiers), they'll have to overcome Ohio State, whom the Lions lost to 1-0 last year, always-powerful Hartwick and Akron, as well as the normal contingent of Big Ten foes (Michigan added a team this year, too).

Ricardo Villar, a Sao Paulo, Brazil, native, will lead Penn State this year. A first-team All-America selection from last year, Villar paced the Lions with 13 goals and nine assists.

"He is really a great player and amazes everyone around him when he touches the ball," senior midfielder Pete Shellenberger said. "It would be great if everyone else can follow him along."

Gorman, who has seen Villar develop as quick as any player in Penn State history, knows that this, his senior season, will be the one he needs to cushion his playing resume.

"I think Ricardo has professional aspirations and he knows he has to have a better year than last year," Gorman said. "I think he also understands that he has to be more of a leader on the field."

Penn State also has the added veteran benefits of junior midfielder Derek Potteiger, senior midfielder Matt Leahy, junior forward Ryan Miller and junior defender Jorma Makipaa, who sat out last season with a gruesome broken-leg injury. The Finland native could be seen limping around campus well into the Spring Semester.

"I think everybody is always concerned about putting the ball in the back of the net," Gorman said. "That was probably the one thing that we were lacking the last two years. We think we have that solved in terms of returning players."

The only position where a lack of experience will be obvious is in the goal, where Tipp City, Ohio native Whit Gibson had tended the net for the past two years. Gibson's 0.86 goals-allowed average was among the best in the Big Ten.

"It's wide open," Gorman said of the position. "Obviously the fact that (junior Ryan) Sickman is healthy gives it big hope. I don't think Reed Brubaker is going to have it all the way. And then, we have two excellent freshman goalkeepers."

The Brubaker name is hardly new to Penn State soccer fans, as Reed's brothers, Rick and Ross, recently graduated after playing for the Lions.

Reed, along with midfielder Ben Dawson and midfielder Brent Jacquette, will headline a young sophomore crop that played a pivotal role in the Lions' success.

"We have a couple good players in that sophomore class that might surprise some people," Gorman said. "But as a coach you are always leery of putting too much pressure on sophomores and freshman early. You want to let them in their own level and see what they do."

Together, Gorman remains optimistic about this team, because this mix of veteran and rookie players is among the finest he's had.

"Confidence is high going into the season," Gorman said, "and I think there is a good foundation for that confidence.

"If you don't set high goals," he added, "there is not much to shoot for."