Penn State men’s soccer found its route to a Big Ten Tournament championship after the regular season finished up this weekend.

After all was said and done, Penn State ended the Big Ten slate in second, just barely behind No. 1 Indiana. As a result, the Nittany Lions will face No. 7 Ohio State in the first round on Saturday at Jeffrey Field.

Penn State defeated the Buckeyes 1-0 a few weeks ago thanks to a Peter Mangione goal in the 75th minute. The contest doubled as the Mack Brady Match, an annual regular-season game played in the honor of a young goalkeeper who passed away in 2012.

Ohio State began the year with a 3-1-1 record, including a 1-0 win against Maryland at the Terrapins’ infamous Ludwig Field. The Buckeyes also drew against Michigan 2-2.

However, Brian Maisonneuve’s team has since lost four straight, plummeting the team from third to seventh in the Big Ten in a matter of fewer than three weeks. After scoring 11 goals in its first five matches, Ohio State was shut out by all four opponents in the losing streak, one of which was Penn State.

Should the Nittany Lions advance, the team would once again host on Wednesday, April 14, for the Big Ten semifinals.

The Nittany Lions would hypothetically play the winner of No. 3 Michigan versus No. 6 Michigan State. Penn State has yet to face the Wolverines after COVID-19 concerns forced the Nittany Lions to cancel their regular season encounter. However, neither semifinal matchup is inviting for Jeff Cook’s team, as Michigan State is the only team to have defeated Penn State all year.