Win twice this weekend and the Big Ten championship goes to the Nittany Lions. Win any less, and it's in someone else's hands.

The No. 7 Penn State field hockey team (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) enters its last two regular season games with a chance to cement its second consecutive Big Ten title. Right now, No. 5 Ohio State stands at the top of the Big Ten with a conference record of 4-1, with one game left. The Nittany Lions follow with a 3-1 record.

Iowa (8-7, 2-3) will be the first opponent tonight at 5, and No. 14 Indiana will conclude the Lions' season on Sunday at noon. Both games will be played at AstroTurf field.

If the Lions win both games, they will ensure the Big Ten championship, either alone or shared with the Buckeyes. If they split the two games, Ohio State will have to lose its final game for the crown to be shared. If the Lions come away winless, the Buckeyes take sole possession of first place.

"Our team knows that it's in our hands," senior back Carey Maser said. "As long as we play like we're capable of, we're going to be fine.

"We'd rather have it in our hands rather than like, 'Oh, I hope this team does that, or this team does that.' We want it in our hands and that's exactly where it is."

Maser and the Penn State defense will have a heavy task tonight with two very skilled Iowa players. Sophomores Caitlin McCurdy and Lauren Pfeiffer are tied for second in the Big Ten in both total shots and shots per game. The Penn State defense counters with its No. 1 conference ranking in total goals allowed and goals allowed per game.

"We're not going to sit back on our heels and say 'Oh, they have two huge players that we need to guard at all times,' because we have 11 players that are like that," Maser said. "With us coming off the bench, we have even more. Ye,s we respect the other girls and their abilities, but we're not going to let that change how we play."

Penn State coach Char Morett will start to look closely at Indiana (13-4, 3-2 Big Ten) tomorrow. The Hoosiers' strongest asset is their defense and goaltending. Rather than trying to find a specific way around that, Morett has been taking her own team's performance and working to improve it.

The Lions clinched the Big Ten title at Indiana last year when both teams were vying for it. This year, the Hoosiers can only win the title if both Ohio State and Penn State lose all their weekend games.

"We've had a lot of exciting games at home, so I'm just hoping the girls come ready to play and look to improve our consistency on the field," Morett said. "They'll be excited to play at home. It's Senior Day on Sunday, so I know there's always a lot of excitement around there, a lot of emotion."