UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Oct. 2, 2003) - Sophomore Brian Devlin (Philadelphia, Pa.) notched the first two-goal game of his career to lead Penn State to a 3-1 victory over Northwestern in the Nittany Lions' Big Ten opener before 536 fans Thursday at Jeffrey Field.

The win improved No. 15 Penn State's record to 6-3-0 on the season and it was the team's sixth win in its last seven matches. The Nittany Lions, who are 4-0-0 at Jeffrey Field this season, will play host to Wisconsin 2 p.m. Sunday in a doubleheader that starts with the Penn State women's soccer team hosting Michigan beginning at 12 p.m.

Penn State's match versus Wisconsin on Sunday will be carried live on ESPN Radio WMAJ 1450 AM and a link to listen can be found at www.GoPSUsports.com.

Devlin got the Nittany Lions on the board off a cross from sophomore Simon Omekanda (Rochester Hills, Mich.) at seven minutes, 45 seconds. Junior Joe Zewe (North Versailles, Pa.) also received an assist on the play.

The Wildcats, who fell to 3-3-4 overall and 0-1-1 in the Big Ten, kept Penn State off the board the rest of the first half and tied the score with less than two minutes remaining before the break. Jaro Pylypczak took a shot from 10 yards out that freshman goalkeeper Matt Novchich (Asheville, N.C.) stopped, but Will Nicholas tallied his first goal by knocking in the rebound to send the game into halftime deadlocked at 1-1. Nicholas's goal came two minutes after Northwestern goalkeeper Brian Heckenbach made a sensational diving save off a shot from Omekanda.

It took Penn State just over 12 minutes in the second half to score again as sophomore David Walters (Hunlock Creek, Pa.) lasered a free kick from 25 yards out to beat Heckenbach at the 57:21 mark. Devlin made it 3-1 as he hit the upper right-hand corner of the net off a cross from Omekanda to put the game out of reach at 59:42.

Novchich made two saves in the game to improve his record to 6-2 while Heckenbach stopped six shots for the Wildcats.

For more information on Penn State men's soccer, please visit Penn State's official athletic website at www.GoPSUsports.com.

Penn State 3
Northwestern 1
(Thursday at Jeffrey Field)
First Half
PSU - Brian Devlin (Simon Omekanda, Joe Zewe) 7:45; NWU - Will
Nicholas (Jaro Pylypczak) 43:43.
Second Half
PSU - David Walters (free kick); PSU - Brian Devlin (Simon Omekanda).
Shots: NWU - 5; PSU - 11.
Saves: NWU - 6 (Brian Heckenbach); PSU - 2 (Matt Novchich). Corner kicks: NWU - 4; PSU - 5.
Fouls: NWU - 18; PSU - 22.
Records: NWU - 3-3-4; PSU - 6-3-0.
Next game: Wisconsin at No. 15 Penn State, 2 p.m. Sunday at Jeffrey Field.

- Nittany Lions Men's Soccer -