Flying home from Madison, Wisc., the atmosphere on the plane was somewhat mixed.

The No. 2 Penn State women's soccer team (12-0, 4-0 Big Ten) had just put away the brooms following a sweep of the first Big Ten road trip of the season. The Lions knocked off Northwestern and then-No. 16 Wisconsin by a score of 2-1 in both games.

But for a team seeking perfection, it was anything but blemish-free. All season the Nittany Lions have looked to jump on teams early. Of late, they've had the opportunities but failed to find the scoreboard.

Friday, Penn State was aggressive from the start, pouncing on the Wildcats 14 minutes into the game courtesy of senior Tiffany Weimer's 16th goal of the season.

But the Lions also showcased their tendency to let teams back in the game. In both weekend games they had lapses in focus after taking the lead, perhaps relying solely on the normally stingy defense to keep less-touted teams from getting back into games.

Northwestern deadlocked the game 30 seconds after Weimer gave Penn State the lead, compliments of Tabitha Lowey. Weimer countered six minutes later to give the Lions the 2-1 lead, ending scoring on the day.

"That's one of the mental lapses we had during the season," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said. "It's a little discouraging, but we rebounded and scored a goal after that."

In the same old story on Sunday, Penn State scored first, with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half on Weimer's 18th goal of the season. With 10 minutes left in the game, Penn State surrendered the tying goal to Badger freshman forward Elise Weber.

Wisconsin pushed the game past regulation. With an undefeated season on the line, the Lions turned to freshman Sheree Gray, who has emerged as the Lions' second scoring threat midway through the season.

Gray netted her first career goal a week earlier in overtime at home against Purdue. She struck again, this time in the third minute of OT, allowing Penn State to head home for a weekend doubleheader with its dream season intact.

"Any time you can come away with two wins on the road against the Big Ten is huge," Wilkins said. "They showed the ability to win in adverse conditions."

The conditions were anything but hospitable this weekend. Brisk gusts outside the Windy City caused problems, according to Wilkins.

Wisconsin posed a larger test, as it was the only other Big Ten team ranked heading into the weekend.

"We faced a Wisconsin team that bunkered down, and we managed to break through," Wilkins said.

Following an 0-3 conference start, the Badgers have been bounced from the polls.

Penn State also overcame its most difficult road trip travel-wise, as it journeyed from Evanston, Ill., to Madison.

"It's difficult to do," Wilkins said. "Being able to focus and do that is quite important."

And they came away healthy, according to Wilkins, a rarity in the nation's most physical conference.

With the plane landed and the bus cleared out, this weekend the Lions return home to host fellow conference-unbeaten Illinois Friday evening followed by a Sunday afternoon match with perennial cellar-dweller Iowa.