Pressure. Some teams thrive on it, and others fall in the face of it.

Pressure practically suffocated the No. 18 Penn State men's lacrosse team (7-5) after it started the season 2-5. Since then, the pressure has been on each and every game just for a shot at a bid for the NCAA tournament. And they have responded to the tune of five straight wins.

"We know we have to run the table to make the playoffs," attackman Nate Whitaker said after the Lions 19-13 upset of Hobart on April 9. "We certainly intend to do just that."

That win was the second in the current five-game winning-streak for Penn State. At 7:30 tonight at Jeffrey Field the Lions will look to better that mark to six games as they take on a Villanova (7-6) team that has dropped three of its last four games. This game, along with their final match against No. 6 Georgetown next Sunday, is crucial for the Lions' playoffs hope.

"We really need these last two games," Penn State coach Glenn Thiel said. "We probably need to win both games to make the playoffs. We definitely have to beat Georgetown. The players know they have to win."

With two games left, the pressure remains, too. Since that 2-5 start, the Lions have been a dominant team, out-shooting their opponents 211-162 and outworking opponents on loose balls with a 205-158. The intensity level has risen and the execution has been much better thanks in large part to the offense of Whitaker and defense of midfielder Greg Gurenlian. Whitaker, the current Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Offensive Player of the Week, is in the midst of a 39-game scoring streak. He leads Penn State in points and goals with 33 and 23, respectively. During the win streak, he has scored at least a goal in each game and at least two in four of the five games for a total of 11. Whitaker also tallied six assists in that span for 17 points in the past five games.

Gurenlian, who has been named ECAC Defensive Player of the Week twice this year, has been the defensive spark that has brought toughness to a formerly soft team.

Prior to the current winning-streak, the Lions were weak on picking up groundballs. They seemed timid and were routinely out-hustled by their opponents.

Since the win against Mount St. Mary's that started the winning streak, Penn State has been dominant on groundballs. Gurenlian has been the catalyst with his 44 groundballs in the last five games. That total is more than any other player has on the entire season. Defenseman Jesse Tarr, who is second on the team in groundballs behind Gurenlian's 95, has just 42.

If the Lions hope to keep their playoff hopes alive, they will continue to look to Whitaker and Gurenlian to carry the load.