Sixty minutes of heart and a game-winning goal with 26 seconds left can catapult a team into a season of greatness.

Coming off an 11-10 victory over thirteenth-ranked James Madison (1-2) in which Penn State senior Molly Ford netted the game winning score with less than 30 seconds remaining, the No. 12 women's lacrosse team (1-1) has a chance to use such momentum when they battle on their home turf with a powerful No. 7 Virginia team (3-1) on Friday at 4 p.m and a tough No. 19 William and Mary squad (1-3) at Jeffrey Field on Sunday at 12 p.m.

"It definitely gave us the confidence to know that we can play a full 60 minutes," senior Sara Young said, referring to the James Madison win. "It was a team effort and everyone played awesome."

Confidence and poise will have to be at a premium when the Virginia bus comes to State College Friday at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers have rattled off a three game win streak with their latest victory coming over perennial powerhouse No. 6 Maryland (1-2) in a 17-16 thriller.

"We're going to go into it like any other game knowing that pretty much every team we play is ranked in the top 10," senior co-captain Stacey Saggese said. "We have to earn every goal that we get, every ground ball. We know we can do it we just have to earn the respect and the win."

The Cavaliers have shown the Lions zero respect as of late, handling them the past two seasons with a 13-7 victory in 2000 and a 15-11 win in 2001. If the Lions are to flip the script this weekend, Penn State must win the matchup of the high-powered Virginia offense against the strong, experienced Lion defense.

"We're going to double team them because we know they have a strong offense," Saggese said. "We know they're a good team and we know they're going to come out fighting. We just need to fight harder."

Penn State should have their hands full with William and Mary as well. Although their record may not exactly be setting the world on fire, the Tribe's losses have all come at the hands of ranked opponents. Their most recent defeat was an 11-7 loss in good effort against the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils.

"They're a scrappy, tough team and they never give up," Saggese said.

William and Mary and Penn State have staged a pair of high octane contests the past two seasons. Penn State upended the Tribe 13-12 two years ago, and knocked off William and Mary by a 12-11 score last season.

"It's going to be a crazy game," Young said. "They always come out and fight real hard. We lost Alyson Shand in that game (last season) to a shoulder injury. It's going to be intense and it's going to be a challenge, but I think we definitely have the skills to beat them again."