For the second time this season, one member of the No. 8 Penn State field hockey team controlled the entire offense.

Sophomore Allison Scola single-handedly led her team to a win, scoring all three goals to record her own natural hat trick in Friday's 3-1 win against Northwestern. Earlier this year, junior Shaun Banta got her first hat trick with three versus West Chester.

"I said to her before the game, 'Ali you need to have a game like you practice. You need the opportunity to get the ball to the cage'," Penn State head coach Char Morett said.

"The first goal was all Ali. She just worked her way in and it was great to see her finish with the goal. The fact that Ali was around the goal and in the middle where we wanted her was good to see."

Scola was first to break the scoreless tie on Friday, taking a hard shot from the top of the circle to put the Nittany Lions (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) up 1-0. Two minutes into the second half, she scored again, assisted by freshman Laura Cahill. This was the first career assist for Cahill.

Three minutes later, Scola put the game away, scoring her third and final goal of the day. The Wildcats spoiled the shutout for sophomore goalie Jen Beaumont, scoring their only goal on a rebound.

"Northwestern was a very strong team and they've improved a lot in the past couple of years," Beaumont said. "They gave us a good fight in the first half and I think it took us a little while to totally take control of the game."

The hat trick is the first of Scola's career and she now has nine goals for the season, second to Banta's 13. She now joins the company of Banta and senior co-captain Annelise Legel, the only two current Lions to have hat tricks. Banta and Scola are the only two to have natural hat tricks, meaning all three goals came in a row.

Eleven different players took 17 shots against the Wildcats on Friday, giving the offense many chances to score. Despite these opportunities in the circle, the Lions were unable to capitalize on eight penalty corners. Morett, however, was not worried.

"We executed [on corners] but we were just missing the cage by inches," Morett said. "It's more important for us to get the ball on cage than it is for the shot to be so precise at times."

With the 2006 Big Ten title on the line, next weekend's games are crucial for the Lions. They are second in the Big Ten, as Indiana and Michigan lost this weekend. The team needs to sweep both Iowa and Indiana next weekend if it wants a chance at the Big Ten title.

"I was really pleased with their win on the road and they obviously understand that the Big Ten championship is in their hands," Morett said. "We don't have to wait and see who beats who. We can just make sure that we are taking care of our business."