If things are going to click, it's best to put everything together in time for the postseason.

By knocking off No. 19 Ohio State Friday night and Ohio Sunday afternoon, No. 10 Penn State (10-4, 3-1 ALC) rebounded from a 14-6 setback to Northwestern on April 15. The Nittany Lions, who split their last eight games, changed the tune with the sweep and have won four of their last five, with just two games left in the regular season.

The wins reflected their attitude heading into the contests.

"I wasn't coming off the field with a loss," junior midfielder Shari Maslin said of her five-goal performance against Ohio.

The wins had an impact mentally on the Lions, who'd been up-and-down on all levels since mid-March.

"We hadn't won two games in a single weekend this season," Maslin said. "This weekend had to be different."

And it was.

Against the Buckeyes, rain-soaked Jeffrey Field made it difficult to sustain offensive threats in a defensive-minded 6-4 win. Against the Bobcats, the snowy conditions couldn't cool down the Nittany Lion offense in a 17-8 win that featured three hat tricks.

"We do well in precipitation," Penn State coach Suzanne Isidor said, as the Lions improved to 3-0 in less-than-ideal conditions, a record that includes a win at Loyola in a downpour.

Things slowly began to click this weekend, even though it originally appeared the inability to execute would again be Penn State's downfall. Preseason All-America goalie Lee Tortorelli, the all-time saves leader at Penn State, bailed out the poor shooting of her teammates, who converted on 6 of 25 shots against Ohio State.

Her brilliant play encapsulates her career and the season. The 6-4 final seemed closer than it actually was, as Ohio State scored twice in the final two minutes.

Sunday appeared eerily similar as the Lions again allowed the first goal before staking claim to a 3-1 lead. This time, however, Tortorelli could not save the day, as the Bobcats tied the score, 4-4, and again at 5-5 just before halftime.

Then, Penn State couldn't miss. If the Lions didn't score, the rest of their shots seemed to clang off the posts as Ohio couldn't stop the diverse Penn State scoring attack, most notably Maslin, who finished the game with five goals. Her effort -- combined with senior attacker Kristen Burke's four goals and junior midfielder Emily Chambers' three -- helped the Lions run away with a 17-8 final as the "D" clamped down.

Burke and Chambers overtook the team's goal-scoring lead from Lori Havrilla, thanks to the hat tricks.

"We knew shooting was going to make or break this game as it did on Friday night," Burke said. "We knew that we had to shoot well. That was a big focus."

The second-half scoring sent two messages to the rest of the nation: first, that the Lions can execute regardless of the weather; and second, that they can overcome mental lapses.

"I was disappointed with the first half of [the Ohio] game but other than that, it was three out of four good halves on the weekend," Isidor said.

Now, they've finally attained that elusive weekend sweep. Thanks to these conference wins, the Lions are closer to getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. With only one conference team guaranteed a spot in the 16-team field, undefeated Northwestern has essentially clinched that berth, with the Wildcats holding the head-to-head advantage over the Lions as a tiebreaker.

"It was huge to pull out two wins against two quality teams. That was a big test," Isidor said.