The Penn State men's soccer team seems to be making a routine out of bouncing back after tough losses.

Last weekend, the Nittany Lions (2-2) opened up their season with a 2-1 loss to Richmond.

Two days later, Penn State beat up on East Carolina for a 4-2 victory.

This past weekend, at the Maryland/FILA Classic in Collegeville the Lions dropped their first game -- a disappointing 2-1 loss to Maryland (3-1) -- but bounced back in even stronger fashion than the weekend before.

In what could prove to be Penn State's toughest matchup of the season, the Lions pulled off a huge upset Sunday over No. 3 Virginia (4-1) by clouting the Cavaliers 4-2.

The win was Penn State's first ever against Virginia.

The win over a top College Cup contender turns around a season that was starting to head in the wrong direction, but Penn State men's soccer coach Barry Gorman remains cautious.

"It's a good win, but we can't get carried away," Gorman said.

"Our objective is to be the best in the country."

Though the Lions are riding a wave of confidence, Gorman wants to avoid an emotional rollercoaster.

"We have to be capable of beating these kinds of teams," Gorman said.

Sophomore forward Chad Severs got Penn State on the scoreboard in the 18th minute, netting his fifth goal in four games.

He has already equaled his total goals in 20 games last season.

Gorman noted Severs' improvement from last season.

"[Severs] is scoring goals and is starting to look sharper," Gorman said.

Gorman also attributed the win to a total team performance, led by the composure of captain Brent Jacquette, who played significant time on defense.

Jacquette said that the team showed more heart against Virginia than he had seen in its previous matches.

"From top to bottom, everybody contributed," Jacquette said.

"Everybody knew their role."

After Virginia tied the match at 1-1 in the 43rd minute, Lions sophomore midfielder Trevor Gorman knocked an assist from sophomore defender Kenji Treschuk through the pipes for a 2-1 lead.

Penn State did not lose its poise. Looking for some insurance, sophomore midfielder Pasi Karppinen put the Lions up 3-1.

After Penn State allowed Maryland to come from behind earlier in the weekend, the Lions would not make the same mistake twice by letting up.

"We just stuck with it and kept pounding it," Jacquette said.

Though the weekend was a split, Penn State comes away with some questions answered.

By tweaking its formations and by filling in players in the right places, Penn State seems to have sparked its offense, and by defeating Virginia, the Lions have showed that they are capable of playing at a national-championship level.

"Everything's finally starting to come together," Jacquette said.