After struggling against top-ranked squads early in the season, the Penn State women's soccer team is searching for a much-needed confidence boost.

In the final weekend before the Big Ten season opens, the No. 9 Lions (2-2-2) will face two unranked opponents at the Harvard Invitational tournament.

They open against Harvard (0-4) today at 1:30 p.m. and finish Sunday against Northeastern (4-1) at 11 a.m.

Head coach Paula Wilkins acknowledged that facing weaker competition is a chance for the Lions to work out some early-season setbacks.

"We're going to need to get ourselves healthy," Wilkins said. "We're going to focus on ourselves this weekend. It's important to build a confidence going into the Big Ten conference schedule."

After facing four teams ranked in the top 20 so far this season, the Lions welcome the opportunity to regroup. Although the games will be a break, the Lions will not take their opponents lightly.

After the win against Bucknell last Sunday, the team would like nothing more than to continue its winning streak.

"Every game is our most important game," captain Ali Krieger said. "We want to progress each day, and from this past weekend we've taken a step forward so we want to continue that. Hopefully, we'll come out with two wins and get better each game."

One key to moving forward will be improving on the little things. Players making tactical mistakes and not fully understanding their roles are big reasons why the team is off to a slow start. Improvement, not necessarily the opponent, will be the focus of the weekend.

Several top players have suffered injuries, including junior defender Denay Riley and sophomore forward/midfielder Sheree Gray. Their returns this weekend along with a possible appearance by freshman defender/midfielder Akilah Duggan, will be another important step to reconstructing a physically depleted team.

Along with the return of key players, the team will be looking to organize its defense, which has been inconsistent all year. It will be tested against Harvard, which is especially talented in the air and on offensive counterattacks.

"Harvard's a really well-organized team," Wilkins said. "They have a very good coach with Erica Walsh. They're going to give us some things that were going to have to deal with, especially in the air."

Northeastern has a history of success when playing in that region. Freshman Liza Rebello, recently named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week, will also challenge the Lion defense.

"We try and stay positive," Krieger said. "If we come out with wins, then obviously we'll be ready to go and really excited about the start of Big Tens."