With six straight conference titles under its belt, the No. 5 Penn State women's soccer team (4-1) is a target for the rest of the Big Ten.

No. 18 Wisconsin (6-0) will take its shot at the Nittany Lions at 8 tonight in Madison, as Big Ten play begins. The Lions will then travel to Virginia to take on James Madison (3-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Penn State will face an undefeated Badgers team with a strong core of players returning from last year's squad including last year's leading scorer Katy Lindenmuth and Amy Vermeulen, who is leading the Big Ten with eight goals and 19 points this season.

Also returning is last year's starting goalkeeper Stefani Szczechowski, who posted four shutouts in 2003 and has been helping this year's starter at goalie, Lynn Murray, make the transition to the college game.

"I think [the Badgers] are going to be very organized and very good," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said. "They have a very good goalkeeper and some very good players to supplement who they lost, and they didn't lose a lot."

The experience and organization of the Badgers, along with the offensive talent they have, has forced Wilkins to stress the importance of defense to her team. She repeatedly told her team at practice to have a concentrated work ethic, put pressure on the ball, and focus on getting back to cover on defense.

To prepare for Vermeulen specifically, the Lions were working especially hard on defending players with their backs to the goal.

"[Vermeulen] is very good with her back to goal but we're going to make sure that Lindsay [Bach] and Natalie Jacobs keep an eye on her," Wilkins said. "I think she's the key to most of their offensive threat. She's able to hold on and let their attack happen, so we're going to be very conscious of where she is."

The Penn State goalkeeper charged with keeping Vermeulen and her Badger teammates off the scoreboard is still undecided. The goalie competition between Amanda Brown and Erin Mcleod will continue for the Lions, and Wilkins will rotate the two based on their day-to-day performances.

"I'm very confident in both of them," Wilkins said. "Right now we are going from practice to practice. I think they both can start and do a good job for us."