Time off can be a negative thing if a team is riding the waves of success, but on the flip side, a break may be the perfect remedy for the Penn State women's lacrosse team.

The Nittany Lions won their last game on Monday to pull their record above .500, to 6-5. The team has been idle all week and will not play again until Tuesday against Pennsylvania. This is the first weekend of the season the Lions will not be playing, and the much-needed time away from the field could not have come at a better time.

"This is perfect timing, it's a nice break," Penn State women's lacrosse coach Suzanne Isidor said. "We need to rest and get healthy, both mentally and physically."

The eight days between games comes after the Lions failed to win back-to-back games over the weekend for the fifth time this season. However, Monday's convincing win over Johns Hopkins put the Lions at 3-0 in conference play and put them in good position to take home the division title. However, this is only the second season of existence for the American Lacrosse Conference, and the winner will not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament until next season.

"We're not sure who [the committee] is going to be taking," Isidor said. "We have six games left ... the one thing I know is that we have to win the majority of our games."

Isidor added that her team is capable of doing just that, and the time off should help the Lions regroup and refocus.

The schedule has not been very kind to the Lions thus far, as they have played nine of 11 games away from Happy Valley, which is starting to wear on them.

"It's been kind of rough, especially when you get old," senior Colleen O'Hara said. "We needed to sleep and regroup and catch up on schoolwork."

Along with the positives that time off brings to a team, come the negatives of losing the chemistry that has been slowly building all season for this very young team. The Lions' practice yesterday was their first and only during the week. They will return to the practice field tomorrow in hopes of working out the one problem that has plagued them of late -- turnovers.

Costly turnovers contributed in the Lions' one-goal defeat at the hands of Loyola on Saturday and Isidor said that's the one thing the Lions must improve during their stretch run.

"The biggest change is limiting the turnovers," she said. "It's not a huge change, but we also really need to capitalize on other teams mistakes."

Over a week off in between games should provide the Lions with the spark they need to regroup and make a run towards an NCAA tournament berth.