Sometimes for the members of the Penn State field hockey team, it seems that if they didn't have bad luck, they would have no luck at all. Another hard-fought game, another highlight-reel-caliber defensive performance, another disappointing loss. The Nittany Lions fell to No. 20 Iowa 2-1 on Friday in a game that went into two overtimes before the visiting Hawkeyes notched the game winner.

The close losses don't get any easier for the Lions as the season goes on, as one could easily see from the demeanor of coach Char Morett and her team immediately following Kadi Sickel's golden goal. As a normally supportive sideline went silent, the scene was all too familiar.

Both teams went through bouts of sloppiness in the passing game, but Sickel's goal didn't need to be set up by a conventional pass. With 10:19 remaining in the second overtime, Iowa's Sarah Dawson slapped a shot on goal. Penn State goaltender Megan Akstin stopped the shot, batting it into the air. Sickel was there to capitalize on the open cage, putting an end to 90 minutes of action at a cold and wet Bigler Field. This was the ninth of Penn State's 15 games this season in which the Lions (8-7, 2-2 Big Ten) failed to net more than one goal.

"We've just got to take care of the ball," Morett said. "We have chances, but we don't realize the priority that needs to be placed on converting our opportunities."

A driving force behind those great opportunities was senior forward Karin Grap, who, according to Morett, played her best game of the year. Even though classes were not in session on Friday, Grap took it upon herself to school the Hawkeye backs on several occasions with a combination of pretty passing, impressive speed and precise stick handling.

Grap displayed all of those qualities en route to setting up Michele Rigby on 19th-ranked Penn State's only goal, on which the co-captain was awarded her first assist of the season. That goal came just three minutes after Iowa (8-5, 4-0) took a 1-0 lead on a blazing Margot McMahon shot.

The dynamic Lions' defense stepped up to the challenge like usual. With 35 seconds left in the first half, Sara Cahill collected a defensive save when she cleared a menacing dribbler from the shadow of an open goal, preserving a 1-1 tie going into the break. Freshman defender Mallory Weisen also cleared the ball from harm's way. Weisen's play was the image of desperate effort, of sheer desire -- and some pretty good hand-eye coordination as well.

With just under 13 minutes to play, Weisen saw a shot off an Iowa penalty corner bounce toward the goal line. After missing with her first swing she quickly rewound, and, with her last possible effort to keep the score tied, the talented back came through, batting the ball away, and thwarting Iowa's last good scoring opportunity in regulation.

"Bekah [Hostetler], Sara, Molly [Schriver], Mallory -- they all played well. They're giving everything they have," Morett said of the Penn State defenders.

This type of ending is something with which these Lions are all too familiar. Six of Penn State's seven losses have seen the team fall one goal short, with three of those losses now coming in overtime.

"We just have to keep going, it's the only thing we really can do," co-captain Amanda Eckert said.