The 2002 season for Penn State women's soccer was arguably one of the best in team history.

A 19-4-1 record including a 9-1 mark in conference play. A Big Ten regular season title and, most notably, an appearance in the College Cup -- collegiate soccer's final four.

There was, however, one nagging blemish -- a 4-3 loss to Illinois in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

Fortunately for the No. 14 Nittany Lions, they were able to exorcise those demons over the weekend when they traveled to Champaign-Urbana and shut out the Fighting Illini, 2-0.

Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins believes that last season's loss may have stuck with some of her returning players for Sunday's game.

"I think it had an impact," Wilkins said. "It was definitely on the players' minds along with the hunt for a Big Ten title."

Though it couldn't change the outcome of last year's tournament game, the victory was a good start to erasing the memory of the result.

At the time, the loss was hard to swallow. The Lions had been coming off of an eight-game winning streak to finish the regular season. One of those victories was a resounding 4-0 decision over the Illini at Jeffrey Field.

In the Big Ten tournament however, Penn State held a 3-0 lead in the second half against the Illini, only to see it slip away in the final 20 minutes as Illinois rallied for four goals.

Maybe it was the ten-day layoff before the game, thanks to inclement Penn State weather canceling a season finale against West Virginia. Whatever the reason, Wilkins was unhappy after last year's game.

"It was a big disappointment for us that we couldn't put it together," Wilkins said after the tournament loss. "I definitely think we cruised into it. I hope we learn a lesson."

Wilkins' squad certainly learned that lesson for this season's game, controlling the play and severely limiting the Illini's chances.

Illinois managed only six shots in the direction of sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Brown, as she was only required to make one save. The Lions also tripled the Illini's shot total by recording 18 of their own.

The win is a nice dose of revenge for the Lions, as Illinois was undefeated in conference play heading into the game and coming off of an upset win over No. 11 Ohio State. The Lions' fate is now in their own hands to capture the regular season title; winning out would guarantee the Lions at least a share of the title.

"We're very excited about that," Wilkins said. "It's a sign that we've achieved the task at hand. Now we need to focus on our next two games this weekend."