The Penn State women's soccer team usually has no difficulties starting off the game strong. Early in the season, it was mental letdowns late in games that hurt the team.

But in their last four games, the Nittany Lions have avoided those collapses.

And fresh off a road trip a week ago in which they held the opposition scoreless, the Lions followed it up this past weekend with a pair of 1-0 home wins against Minnesota and Ohio State.

Communication on the team's back line has been one of the reasons why the Lions have recorded four straight shutouts. A growing familiarity with one another has also been the key to solving the problems of letting teams back into games in the second half.

"It feels great, the past four games we've been progressing," captain Ali Krieger said. "You can tell on the field we're communicating better, and just having fun. When you're having fun you play well, so we're enjoying it as a collective group in the back."

Preventing opposing Big Ten teams from mounting comebacks in the last few games has been enjoyable for the Lions. Shutting them out has been pretty fun, too.

"We have learned now when we're up we can't get lackadaisical," Denay Riley said. "When we're up 2-0 we hit a comfort zone, we're like everything's going to be OK, and everything slows down. Now we're starting to realize that when we get up we have to score more goals."

Scoring more goals has been difficult for the offense lately, but with a defense that is playing so well, it hasn't been that necessary.

The team has been struggling with putting the ball in the back of the net this season because it has been defending more, head coach Paula Wilkins said.

With the defense rising to the occasion lately, holding on to any lead the team is able to establish early in the game, opposing teams have been throwing everything they have at the Lions.

"When you score in the first half of the game, you have to step it up again and not let down because you know they are going to come at you with all the physicality that they have," Krieger said. "You have to be prepared and stay focused throughout the entire time."

Opposing teams playing the Lions tough late in the game isn't anything new, but as the backline has become more efficient as a unit, a recent collapse at Illinois is going to seem like history.

"[The backline] is getting more comfortable with each other, and I think they've realized they are going to be the key to our success. They have gotten a little more close after the Illinois debacle."

Even with the confidence that they can preserve leads more effectively than early in the season, the team is still focused on one game at a time, one half of soccer at a time.

"We're taking care of what we can take care of and preparing to win the next two games in the Big Ten," Wilkins said. "We're only focusing on what we can control."