This weekend, the No. 4 Penn State field hockey team will have to deal with a two-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year.

Former Iowa field hockey standout Kristen Holmes-Winn is in her first year as coach of the No. 10 Princeton field hockey team, which Penn State will face on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Class of 1952 Stadium. The Nittany Lions will first have to deal with Lafayette tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Holmes-Winn's ties to the Big Ten date back to the mid-1990s, when she led Iowa to three Big Ten Championships and three NCAA final four appearances. She is off to a good start this season, as the Tigers are 2-0, including a win over No. 16 Virginia. Should the Tigers beat Yale on Saturday and the Lions beat Lafayette, Sunday's match-up will be a battle of two unbeatens in the top 10.

"Princeton is always tough," said Penn State goalie Annie Zinkavich. "It's been a dogfight every time we've played them."

Along with Old Dominion, Princeton is Penn State's biggest out-of--conference rival. The Tigers knocked the Lions out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round in 2000. However, Penn State got its revenge last year, taking Princeton out 3-2 in the second round of the tournament. Like Old Dominion, which Penn State beat 6-2 in its opener, the Tigers will likely have revenge on their mind.

For the Lions to come home undefeated, the team will have to play consistently despite the lack of continuity in the starting lineup. The Lions have sent out a different starting lineup in each of their first four games, as Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett continues to search for the most effective combination of players. Playing lackadaisically, which Morett said the team did during the second half of Wednesday's win against Temple, could cost the team a win against a quality team like Princeton.

"If someone isn't on their game, someone else will get in there," Morett said.

Zinkavich, who has posted shutouts in two of her last three games, said that the team needs to be more consistent, but she is happy that they have been able to squeak out one-goal wins in their last two outings.

"I wouldn't say we're ecstatic with our play," Zinkavich said. "We're still learning from game to game. We're really good at knowing when we need to get things done."

Playing close games is nothing new for the Lions. Last year, the team went 8-1 in games decided by one goal, including a stellar 3-0 record in one-goal games in the NCAA Tournament. This year, the team has continued to show a knack for finding ways to win close games, as the Lions beat Connecticut 2-1 last weekend and Temple 1-0 in overtime on Wednesday.