The Penn State field hockey team learned a valuable lesson last weekend — dominating play doesn't always ensure a victory.

The No. 6 Lady Lions (2-2) controlled the ball, challenged the defense and created scoring opportunities, but still lost 2-1 in overtime to No. 4 North Carolina (3-0) Monday at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in St. Louis. The day before that, the Lions beat Virginia (1-1) in a 3-1 decision.

"We stole this win," UNC coach Karen Shelton said in a press release. "Penn State outplayed us. Without the outstanding play from Amy Tran, we would have lost this game."

The Lions and Tar Heels each had multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, but due to excellent goalkeeping, the first half ended with no score.

Redshirt sophomore Annie Zinkavich played in net for the Lions while Tran manned the goal for UNC.

Tran, who was the starting goalkeeper last year in two games against Penn State, was a strong presence in net for the Tar Heels. Although the Lions' offense was able to create opportunities in front of the net, Tran was able to turn most of the shots away. She made 11 saves during the contest.

Lions junior Kiley Kulina, with assists from forward Maegan Galie and middle/back Jill Martz, finally converted one of those shots into a goal with 18:32 showing on the clock.

With the added confidence, Penn State was able to keep UNC at bay for a while, but with about 11 minutes remaining in the game, UNC put a shot passed Zinkavich to tie the game, 1-1.

The game remained tied and went into overtime. With only 2:19 left in the first overtime period, UNC's Jana Toepel scored to win the game for UNC.

The loss came as a shock to the Lions, who felt they had enough scoring opportunities to have won the game. Penn State coach Char Morett said she felt Penn State didn't deserve to lose after the effort her team put into the game.

Penn State offensive opportunities outweighed those of UNC as the Lions picked up eight penalty corners while UNC had one. The Lions also had two penalty strokes in the game, including one in overtime, but both hit the post.

"We are so disappointed because we had so many opportunities to score," Martz said. "Their goalkeeper, Amy Tran, was amazing. We had opportunity after opportunity and we just couldn't put it in."

Against Virginia, however, the opposite was true. Penn State got on the board early against the Cavaliers when middle/back Irene Kofroth scored on a penalty stroke to go ahead 1-0.

After Virginia converted a penalty corner into a goal to tie the game at 1-1, Penn State took command of the game.

Junior forward Meredith Shulzitski scored just 6:30 into the second half, then Kulina put the game away for Penn State when she scored on a penalty corner.

Penn State outshot Virginia 15-4 in the game.

"Our offense played great against UVA," Martz said. "They put some enormous pressure on their defense, and their defense played great, but our offense was outstanding."

Despite holding a 2-2 record, the Lions are hopeful they can bounce back and improve their record to become a national contender. The players said the losses have made them realize where they stand and what they need to improve on before the next game, which is Sunday at home against St. Joseph's.

"I think after we lost to Old Dominion and then beat Kent State, we couldn't see exactly where we were at," Martz said. "After playing UNC and UVA, we can see where we're at and we know we are one of the top teams right now."