With all of those positive streaks going for them, the Lions are looking to end their current streak in the Big Ten tournament. The past two years, top-seeded Penn State has been eliminated in the first round. Last year, it was host Wisconsin who knocked off the Lions 4-3 on penalty kicks after playing to a 0-0 tie, and two years ago it was Illinois who defeated Penn State 4-3.
"Last year Wisconsin bunkered in the box," midfielder Ali Krieger said. "They wanted to knock us out of the tournament. I don't know if they wanted to win the championship as much as it would make their season to knock us out of it. Every team wants to beat us because we're on top."
Penn State has been on top of the Big Ten seven straight years but have failed to show it in the tournament half of said years. The Lions won the tournament in 1998 and were back-to-back champions in 2000 and 2001. However, in 1999, they lost to fourth-seeded Minnesota in the semifinals, and have most recently lost in the first round the past two years.
Penn State coach Paula Wilkins is confident her team can end that streak this year, and is making sure her team does not have the same letdown it had the past two tournaments.
"Last year, it was a lack of focus in the tournament," Wilkins said. "This year is different because of the past history. I will make them ready."
Wilkins had her team ready all season. The Lions dominated Big Ten competition in the regular season, giving just a goal to Purdue and shutting out nine of the 10 teams they played. In those games, the Lions out-shot their opponents 172-64, and outscored them 28-1. Statistics like that make Penn State a marked team. The other seven teams would all love to hand the Lions their first conference loss of the year.
The road to a tournament championship will be tough. Penn State will have to go through a field of tough teams eager to avenge their losses to the Lions. Three other teams are ranked in the top 25 including the last two Big Ten tournament champions. No. 13 Ohio State, who is hosting the tournament, won it in 2002, and No. 18 Illinois is the defending champ. No. 25 Wisconsin, who beat the Lions last year, rounds out the field of ranked teams.
The Lions defeated all three of those teams this year by at least two goals, but the Buckeyes' loss to Penn State was their only Big Ten loss of the season. Penn State could also run into a Michigan team that finished third in the conference and took the Lions to the brink. The game was a defensive struggle that took two overtimes to decide the outcome. Penn State just escaped from Ann Arbor with a 1-0 victory, which came when Weimer scored just minutes before the game would be called a tie.
Penn State will take on eighth-seeded Indiana today. Fourth-seeded Illinois will then take on fifth-seeded Northwestern, a game to be followed by Ohio State versus Purdue in the two-versus-seven game. Third-seeded Michigan will take on sixth-seeded Wisconsin to round out the first day of the tournament.
Given their success in the regular season against Big Ten competition, the Lions are once again the favorites, and the players expect to continue to dominate the conference and turn around their recent tournament history.
"We've just had bad luck with the tournament," midfielder Carmelina Moscato said. "Losing would put a bitter spin on the season. There's no reason we should lose though."
