Despite the presence of All-American goalie Alyssa Naeher, the Lions struggled in the early going. They went 5-5-0 in non-conference play, though three of the losses were to Top 10 teams -- Florida State (4-1), Notre Dame (3-1) and Portland (4-1).
Coach Erica Walsh has a young team, so it took time for first-year players Emma Thomson, Nikki Watts, Jackie Hakes and Bri Garcia to integrate themselves into the PSU lineup.
Junior Katie Schoepfer has been on fire, leading Penn State with nine goals and five assists. She assisted on both goals in the 2-0 triumph over Minnesota and scored the lone goal in the 1-0 win over Iowa last week.
The Minnesota win gave the Lions the lead in the Big Ten. They lead the Gophers and surprise Michigan State by three points with three games to play. Purdue and Ohio State round out the top five.
Penn State's lone defeat since the start of conference play was to Michigan State -- its first in 13 years.
One concern heading into the postseason: Naeher is a member of the U.S. under-20 women's national team that is headed to Chile next month for the world championships.
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