Drummond has done an impressive job of pushing through it, scoring five times in the past two weekends, including game-winners against Illinois and Minnesota. The winner against the Fighting Illini was especially important, as it gave the Nittany Lions a critical road victory that helped clinch the team's sixth straight Big Ten title.
Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins knew that it would just be a matter of time before the four-year starter would snap out of it.
"I think that she's been pushing herself," Wilkins said after a game against Michigan State two weeks ago. "We were going to let her play through it. I think her work rate has been great.
She's still creating opportunities for us, so I won't complain. I think that she just has to relax and she has the confidence to do it."
The Littleton, Colo. native has reason to expect more from herself, having won the Lions' Outstanding Offensive Player award the past two years and now ranks third all time at Penn State in goals.
The fact that Drummond scored on a breakaway against the Badgers may have given her the greatest relief of the weekend, especially after not converting on a few chances against Iowa earlier in the season.
"I know every athlete experiences it," Drummond said. "And I guess it's just how you push through it."
As Drummond's Penn State career winds down, she'll be able to point to these past few weeks as a time when she pushed through it.
