The regular season is at its halfway point, and the Penn State field hockey team (7-2) finds itself in a very familiar situation.

Last year, the No. 7 Nittany Lions lost their first game, and didn't lose again until the last game of the season. Penn State won 17-straight games in that stretch and ended the season as Big Ten Champions.

This may be a different year, but the parallels are definitely there. This year's team lost its first two games of the season, and has since gone on a seven-game winning streak, including last night's 3-0 victory against the University of Pennsylvania. How long will it go this year?

Penn State is not focusing on matching the streak, and the team goals are changing constantly. The one mission that will stay until the end of the season is to just get better every time they are on the field.

"We don't like to think about the streak," Penn State assistant coach Lisa Bervinchak-Love said. "We had a slow start, so we said our goal was with each game to get better and just keep to our game plan. If we continue to get better and better with each game, we have a shot of winning the Big Ten again. That is definitely one of our goals. But, we take one game at a time as always."

Ironically, both of the first losses from the past two years came at the hands of powerhouse Old Dominion. Penn State coach Char Morett noticed that this could affect the mindset of her players at the beginning of the season. She decided to sit down with her players, and let them know their futures are in their own hands and not to bank on some streak that happened a year ago.

"I said to the team those things just don't happen, you make them happen," Morett said. "I think that's where they sort of thought 'well OK, we're going to go on our 17-game winning streak.' But no, it doesn't happen without your effort.

"We could have all the team talks we want and feel warm and fuzzy, but unless we put the effort and intensity and game-smart decisions on the field, then we're going to be in trouble. "That was a tough lesson for them to learn, and I think that they're starting to learn that lesson."

With Big Ten play starting on Saturday against Michigan State, Penn State is at the best position it could be in at this point of the season. The players are showing their eagerness and confidence to hoist the Big Ten crown for the second straight year.

After last year's turnaround season, this year's Lions would be more than happy to match the 17-game streak. They hope the end of this year's run will once again end in a championship. What could be better than that?

"More than 17 games," junior Shaun Banta said with a smile. "It is exciting though."