They say defense wins championships. If that is the case, the Penn State field hockey team is well on its way.

The Nittany Lions (2-0) earned their second win of the season by beating the University of Connecticut (1-2) 2-1 on Friday night.

This defensive battle came a week after Penn State's 5-0 drubbing of Lafayette in its home opener.

With the win, the Lions have won nine games in a row against non-conference opponents, and Penn State field hockey coach Charlene Morett moves into fourth place on the all-time Div. I career wins list.

Overall, Morett was pleased with the team's performance.

"It was a great game," she said. "Totally up and down, end to end. Both teams played really well. This was a huge win coming for us on the road."

With the score knotted at one with two minutes left to play in regulation, overtime looked inevitable.

But once again, Penn State's penalty corner execution saved the day. Junior midfielder Heather Conroy scored her second goal of the game off a feed from sophomore forward Michele Rigby.

The pair had already teamed up for Penn State's first goal, which came at the midway point of the second half, also off a penalty corner. With Conroy's pair of goals against UConn, she has scored four of the Lions' seven goals on the season.

Both teams were unable to score for the entire first half, making for a defensive battle. Morett pointed out that there were several times during the game when UConn was able to keep the ball in the Penn State end. The Huskies outshot the Lions 15-11, but Penn State's strong defensive core was able to hold off the Huskies.

"They [UConn] were very threatening," Morett said. "But we just didn't give up. We played strong. Physically we're in great shape and that showed. We took a huge step with our defensive skills and technique."

Rigby credited Conroy and Kelly Concini with leading the way for the defense. Goalie Annie Zinkavich recorded five saves for Penn State, while forward Neilye Stoner made a defensive save of her own.

According to Rigby, the team had been focusing on its defense in practice and was pleased it was able to transfer it over to the game.

"Our defense really helped us win this game," sophomore forward Mary Schaefer said.

The Lions return to action on Friday when they take on Temple at 5 p.m. at Bigler Field.