In what would amount to a statement weekend, the Penn State women's soccer team firmly announced its place among the nation's elite.

The No. 7 Nittany Lions (4-1-1) defeated No. 22 Southern California 3-2 on Friday night and tied No. 2 Santa Clara 2-2 yesterday at the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic, running their unbeaten streak to five games.

After falling behind the Broncos (2-1-3) early yesterday, the Lions rallied behind goals from senior captains Heidi Drummond and Joanna Lohman and earned a draw against one of the top teams in the country.

The Broncos were coming off of a humbling 4-1 loss on Friday to host Virginia and came out quickly against the Lions, scoring in the first two minutes.

"I think any time a team loses that badly, they always come out with a little more intensity," Lohman said.

Lohman continued her strong performance, with three goals and five points, two coming against the Women of Troy (2-2-1), including the game-winner.

Collecting a ball inside the box in the 86th minute, Lohman drove it past USC goaltender Julie Peterson, giving the Lions the lead, which they held on to for the victory. The Lions exacted some revenge against the Women of Troy, who won last year's contest 1-0.

"I was just lucky enough to have the ball bounce to me," Lohman said of her winner against Southern Cal. "It was just unfortunate that we kept letting them back into the game."

Lohman added an assist on forward Tiffany Weimer's second half goal -- her third goal in the last three games.

"I thought [Lohman] showed great leadership today to bring this team together to win this game," Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins said after the Southern Cal game. "I think it was a great test of our team's maturity and composure to score the late goals we needed today, and it was a test we handled well."

The Lions also got strong performances from Weimer, junior Stephanie Pezzullo and senior Stephanie Smith, with Smith and Pezzullo assisting on Lohman's first goal.

Despite a close victory in the first game, the Lions were not entirely satisfied with the weekend, narrowly missing a chance to beat a top-ranked team in Santa Clara.

"We played well in each game, but we're not too happy," Weimer said. "We feel like we should have beaten Santa Clara."

All five games that the Lions have played against ranked teams have taken place away from Jeffrey Field, with the squad compiling a 3-1-1 record. The Lions will return home for a Wednesday night matchup against Bucknell at 7.