A little over two weeks ago, their season looked extremely bleak. A 2-5 record, the failure to win a single game on the road, punctuated by the feeling that reaching .500 would be next to impossible. Not to mention receiving a bid in the NCAA tournament was a far-fetched yearning.

This was the state of the Penn State men's lacrosse team.

But on Saturday the Nittany Lions (5-5, 3-1 ECAC) manufactured their third consecutive victory, this one a 12-4 win against St. John's, pulling their record to .500 for the first time since March 5. As to why this turnaround came about, it's pretty simple.

"A lot of it has to do with effort. In practice, we've been working on groundballs and fighting for every possession and that's made the difference," junior attackman Nate Whitaker said.

On Saturday, Whitaker led the Lions with three goals and an assist, extending his personal scoring streak to a ridiculous 37 games.

The Red Storm played a lot of teams closely this year, but entering Saturday's game at Jeffrey Field, they were losers of five straight.

If the Lions built an early lead, they felt they could handle any runs St. John's might make.

"We said the start was important. We wanted to get off on the right foot so we did that. We got the offense going, we moved the ball pretty well," Penn State coach Glenn Thiel said.

The Lions jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on St. John's. By the end of the third quarter, the Lions led, 11-4. They held the Red Storm scoreless in the final quarter, finishing the game with a 12-4 victory.

The only goal scored in the fourth quarter garnered the loudest ovation from the 578 Lion fans in attendance. It was scored by captain Mike Jacober at the 1:51 mark. It was only Jacober's second goal of the season and his first since returning to the team after the tragic loss of three of his immediate family members.

"We wanted him to get a goal. He's been trying, and he hasn't been able to get over the hump from shooting the ball down low all the time, so he finally put one by the goaltender," Thiel said.

Tomorrow, the Lions will attempt to get their first road victory, which has eluded them thus far this season, when they travel to Bucknell.

They have reopened many eyes in the ECAC.

"We have four more games left, and we have to win these four to make the playoffs and that's all I'm thinking about," Whitaker said.