It is often said in sports that championship teams play their best when it counts.

The baseball playoffs this year provided an example of this time-tested saying, as it was the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees who played best in October and November and reached the World Series.

The Seattle Mariners, the best team in the regular season, had to settle for watching the Fall Classic on television because they could not overcome the Yankees in the postseason, when it mattered.

Likewise, the Nittany Lion field hockey team's eight game win streak to close the regular season did not give them a place among the nation's best teams in the NCAA tournament because it did not perform up to its potential when it mattered the most.

Coach Char Morett said her team played tentatively in the first half of their 3-2 overtime loss to No. 12 Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, the opposite of playing their best when it counted.

The No. 14 Lions (12-7) knew they had to have a strong showing at the Big Ten tourney to make their 20th consecutive NCAA playoff appearance. Their loss to the Hawkeyes Nov. 2 in the Big Ten tournament was not what they had in mind when they stepped on the field at Northwestern.

"We had a lot of confidence going," said forward and co-captain Meredith Shulzitski, who scored Penn State's first goal against the Hawkeyes. "We had no doubt in our mind that we could (beat Iowa), but we just didn't make it happen.

The Hawkeyes had defeated the Lions in a similar game in early October 2-1, Penn State's last loss before they reeled off eight straight victories.

Shulzitski said that the second loss to the Hawkeyes was disappointing because the Lions knew they had to beat Iowa to make the NCAA tournament.

Though the Lions could have guaranteed themselves a bid in the Big Dance if they had won the Big Ten Tournament, Morett said the NCAA's system of allotting seven of the tournament's 16 spots to conference winners hindered the Lions' chances of receiving an at-large bid.

In addition, No. 20 California, the winner of the NorPac conference, made the NCAA tournament after winning a play-in game against Quinnipiac College, which took the Northeast Conference title.

"It was a tough year to get in," Morett said. "There are so many automatics that the NCAA has offered to some conferences that may not seem as strong. That's the system."

Despite their disappointment in not making the Big Dance, Morett said the Lions could take some positives out of this season.

"We are still really proud of the season and the way we turned things around," she said. "(We) had some great wins."

A casual onlooker might think the Lions' 2-0 victory over then No. 5 Princeton, which started the Lions' win streak, was the turning point in Penn State's season. At that point the Lions were 4-6 and the possibility of postseason play looked bleak.

However, Shulzitski said she did not think there was one distinct turning point in the season. She said the Lions' second half success was due to the team constantly working to improve.

"I think it was just the effort and motivation to keep trying," Shulzitski said.

Looking ahead toward next season, the Lions will have to try to replace the skill and leadership that Shulzitski and midfielder and co-captain Kiley Kulina provided.

Kulina lead the team with 31 points and five assists on her way to winning the Big Ten field hockey Athlete of the Year award, while Shulzitski added seven goals and five assists.

However, the Lions will return nine starters including Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Jill Martz, starting goalie Annie Zinkavich and second leading scorer Timarie Legel, who lead Penn State with 14 goals.

Shulzitski it was important for Legel to step up and score like she did.

Said Shulzitski: "Scoring goals adds excitement, and that really helped our team build momentum."