Heading into a tough Midwest road trip that goes through Northwestern and Wisconsin, the Penn State women's soccer team will have its co-captain and defensive leader back at full strength.

Since suffering a sprained left ankle against UCLA on Sept. 9, fifth-year senior defender Lindsay Bach has been in and out of the lineup.

But Bach described herself as a "full go" during this week's practice and hasn't been kept out of action, although she wears a brace afterwards. She also said she plans to play a full game today against Northwestern.

After the injury, Bach missed the contest against Southern California, but returned to the field the following Friday to help exact revenge upon Maryland, the team that knocked the Nittany Lions out of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

With the game sealed in the second half, Bach left the game early to rest. That Sunday, she then remained on the bench during the entire match against James Madison.

Bach said that she wanted to play in that game, but knew with the Big Ten season looming, some rest would do her well.

"Obviously, I would love to be out there," she said after the James Madison game. "The best thing now is to see that I get back to 100 percent."

No amount of rest, though, was enough to get her healthy for the Big Ten opener against Indiana. She missed the entire game.

Last Sunday's game against Purdue was a different story. Bach played most of the game, leaving in the second half because her conditioning wasn't back to her peak quite yet.

Instead of her normal center back position, Bach was placed at outside back.

The unfamiliar position made the game a little bit more difficult for her, but ultimately she was happy to be back on the grass.

"I'm trying to get out this brace," she said with a laugh. "I think I'm going to be able to do that."