The concept of rotating goalkeepers will again be a prevalent strategy at Jeffrey Field this weekend, but for once it will not be No. 5 Penn State doing the rotating.

As the Nittany Lions (5-1-1, 1-0 Big Ten) host Indiana (6-1, 2-0) at 7 tonight, and Purdue (6-2, 2-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Jeffrey Field, Erin McLeod seems to have taken over the role of starting goalie. McLeod has started the last three games, not allowing a goal in any of them.

"Erin most likely will be starting this weekend," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said. "Having said that, Amanda [Brown] is always a viable option."

While the Lions seem to have decided on one goalie, Purdue has not. The Boilermakers have split time between senior Maureen Carey and sophomore Lauren Mason.

While rotating goalkeepers is nothing new to the Lions, the way Purdue does it is. In all eight games thus far, Carey has played one half and Mason has played the other.

For many teams, that could be a distraction, but for Purdue it has been working wonders. As a tandem, Carey and Mason have posted three straight shutouts and four total on the season. The last two were against Big Ten opponents Minnesota and Iowa.

"I haven't seen any film on the goalies yet," Wilkins said. "Last year [Purdue] had a very good goalkeeper with Mason. She's been very good. I anticipate that she's going to be spectacular again."

Carey and Mason are not the only tough goalkeepers the Lions will face this weekend. Indiana's Lauren Fabbro has three shutouts this season, including one in the Hoosier's last game against Iowa.

The key to Indiana's success has been the defense in front of Fabbro. In the seven games they've played, the Hoosiers have only allowed 22 shots on goal, limiting their opponents to very few scoring opportunities.

With the Lions having won the last six Big Ten titles, both conference foes are looking to continue their great defensive play this weekend and try show Penn State that getting another one be so easy.

To prepare for two very defensive-minded teams, the Lions have been focusing on ball movement and scoring in practice.

Wilkins specifically has been emphasizing moving the ball around to open up opportunities and draw defenders away from the net, especially to free up standout forward Tiffany Weimer, who is usually the focus of the opposing defense.

At one point in Wednesday's practice, Wilkins stopped everyone and drove that point home to her team.

"Ninety percent of teams in the nation will play you goal-side because they are scared of that little thing in red," she said, referring to Weimer who leads the Big Ten in points with 19 and goals with eight.

"Move the ball and make runs to draw defenders out. Defenders are dumb. They will follow."

The Lions' offense has been in high gear recently, even though they were blanked by James Madison last Sunday. They have scored nine goals in the last three games and have tripled their opponents in shots on net for the season. Penn State will need to continue that type of play if it wants to score against two very tough defensive teams.

"In practice we've been talking about everyone taking any chances they might have to create opportunities," Wilkins said.

"The biggest thing is our speed of play. We want to be able to attack with some numbers. That's our modus operendus. We need to get people in the box so we can create chances for a bunch of people."

If the Lions want to extend their 31-game home-winning streak, they must execute the game plan to near perfection.

"Every Big Ten team is good and they come out hard in every game because winning the league is the most important thing to every team in the Big Ten," Wilkins said. "I don't think they'll be intimidated at all. If anything they'll be more excited to play at Jeffrey. Our team has to make sure that we're focused and take pride in being at home."