Winning a seventh straight regular-season Big Ten title has been the focus of the No. 3 Penn State women's soccer team this season. This weekend the Nittany Lions (11-1-1, 7-0-0 Big Ten) have a very realistic shot to do just that as they take on two teams with a combined 1-11-1 Big Ten record this season.

At 8 p.m. tomorrow, the Lions will travel to Iowa City to take on winless Iowa (0-9-2, 0-5-1), then take on the Golden Gophers (5-8-0, 1-6-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday in Minnesota. Two wins would ensure the Lions once again receive the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament and put them one win away from a perfect Big Ten season.

"That's going to be huge," senior defender Stephanie Pezzullo said. "It's my fifth year here so it would be a huge for all of us. Obviously, winning the Big Ten puts us in a greater position for playoffs, so that would be unbelievable."

The Hawkeyes and Gophers simply do not have the talent to match the Lions. Iowa has been out-scored 21-5 on the season, while Minnesota has been shutout five times. Penn State, despite its inconsistency scoring as a team, has recorded a Big Ten-leading nine shutouts, and junior forward Tiffany Weimer, who leads the Big Ten with 15 goals (10 in Big Ten play) and 35 points, has been a one-woman wrecking crew, scoring at least one goal in every conference game thus far.

With the talent and statistics in their favor, the Lions have been focusing more on executing their own play instead of looking at what Iowa and Minnesota will try to do. At practice Tuesday, Penn State coach Paula Wilkins emphasized to her players that they must play "fast and furious," putting constant pressure on the ball. The Lions worked hard on their fitness and focused on playing physical but smart at the same time.

"Our whole approach is that we're not looking at what Iowa and Minnesota have," Wilkins said. "We are concerned with what we are going to present to them. We're focusing completely on what we need to do better, and hopefully from this training we're going to be able to bring that to the next two games."

Getting better as a team has been what Wilkins has been looking for in every game. She would like to see the Lions put together a string of well-played games to really prepare for the playoffs, not just do the minimum to get wins. This weekend will give the Lions a chance to establish consistent play along with the chance of clinching yet another conference title.

"Winning the Big Ten has been a goal for us all season, but right now we're also talking about performance," Wilkins said. "Stuff like how well we're doing things, how well we're executing things. I think that's also important, not just the results."

The Lions have had trouble playing strong games in a row, especially lacking the focus to dominate inferior opponents.

"I think really it's just the mentality of putting two good games together," Pezzullo added. "Not just winning but trying all out 100 percent for both games."

As to whether or not junior midfielder Carmelina Moscato and freshman forward Alli Donofrio will get a chance to "try all out 100 percent" this weekend is yet to be determined. The two were suspended for the Northwestern game for violating team rules, and Wilkins has not decided on their status for this weekend. Moscato and Donofrio spent all practice Tuesday running sprints.