Ah, sweet redemption.

After being snubbed from last year's NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years, the Penn State field hockey team is returning to the NCAA Final Four. Having not reached the final four since 1993, the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (18-4) earned the right after a 3-2 victory over No. 9 seed Princeton (11-7) in yesterday's second round battle.

The Lions now travel to the University of Louisville to take on No. 1 seed Old Dominion in Friday's semifinal matchup.

"I can't say enough, how proud I am of this team," Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett said.

"You saw today how badly they wanted to go to Louisville. It was just a great team effort and outstanding individual efforts."

In a game which saw Penn State thoroughly outplayed and dominated by the powerful Princeton offense, the Lions were able to make the best of their opportunities. The Tigers, coming off an upset over defending national champion Michigan in the first round, outshot the Lions 17-to-14 and held a 12-to-8 edge in penalty corners.

Penn State held a 2-0 lead with less than 12 minutes to play in the first half after goals from midfielders Heather Conroy and Jill Martz.

Tiger forward Ilvy Friebe picked up a loose ball off a penalty corner and pushed it past Lion goalie Annie Zinkavich to cut the lead in half.

Conroy came back less than a minute later to score what would prove to be the game-winning goal.

Conroy received the ball from Michele Rigby, who was taking the hit on the penalty corner.

Instead of taking the straight shot on goal like usual, she read the defense and decided to carry the ball into the circle, pull left, and bury the ball into the back of the cage.

Less than half a minute later, Friebe scored again to give Princeton the momentum again and close out the half with the score 3-2.

The second half saw both teams come out determined yet again. Princeton continued its offensive dominance, consistently not allowing a Penn State offensive push past the Princeton 25-yard line which became like a force field against the Lion offense.

Zinkavich said the constant pressure from Princeton in the circle helped her to play better.

When the opponent is able to get more shots off, it keeps her in the game and more aware of the action.

"We scored more the first half, but I feel playing wise, we stepped up in the passing lanes better the second half," Conroy said.

Defense and senior leadership kept the Lions in the game.

"Today what helped us out was that our defense was more organized," senior back Kate Bender said. "We were communicating a lot and we always stayed with our mark, so when the ball did come back at us right away, everybody was ready for it."

Morett pointed to Bender and Kelly Concini's five years playing for her and the constant pressure from her seniors as a key reason in bringing the Lions back to the Final Four.

In Saturday's first round game, Morett earned her 300th career win after a 3-2 victory against Kent State.

Conroy, Martz and Amanda Eckert netted goals for the Lions to set up the second-round matchup against Princeton.