All good things fall into place over time with hard work and dedication.

Especially revenge.

Sunday's 3-2 win against Princeton for the Penn State field hockey team was two years in the making, a culmination of blood, sweat and tears that encompassed every aspect of the game. And revenge is sweeter than ever.

Since the first round of the 2000 NCAA Field Hockey Championship tournament, where the Nittany Lions lost 4-2 to the Tigers, Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett said there was a discernable difference in the team's drive for success.

"I don't know if it's revenge, but I think that was the turning point in this group because we drove home that night and I'm sure they remember it very well," Morett said. "I can't say enough how proud I am of this team, but I think you saw today how badly they wanted the game."

The team never backed down, not even for two years. It never really took a break. After the loss in 2000, Morett started December practices for the first time in her tenure, an ideology that held for the following years.

"I knew we had talent, and I wanted this team to do great things," Morett said. "Some people couldn't hang with the program and those who did came through. That's why we're here today because they knew back then we were going to make this commitment and that was after the loss to Princeton."

Penn State played Princeton in the second round this year after the Tigers miraculously pulled an upset over powerhouse Michigan in the first round of the tournament. Come gameday for Penn State, it was apparent that the Lions, still haunted by the ghosts of the matchup two years ago, played with a never before seen sense of aggressiveness. Within minutes, the Lions scored their first goal to go ahead. In fact, they were able to rack up three goals by the end of the first half. Whatever happened since 2000 was materializing.

One source Morett points to is personnel. The coaching style is laissez-faire. Morett would rather the leadership be exemplified on the field, than be pacing up and down the sidelines. Such a quality is found in the team's upperclassman brigade -- Kate Bender, Jill Martz, Kelly Concini, Heather Conroy and Annie Zinkavch.

"I let them play the game," she said. "I put it in their hands and I trust them. They got the other kids buying into it, a lot of credit goes to them."

Zinkavich led by example. She did not let the fast-paced, high emotion of Sunday's game against Princeton force her to make mistakes.

"I feed off of nervous energy," Zinkavich said. "There was just more going on, you had to stay focused. You had no choice."