Yesterday was a day of firsts and for the No. 7 Penn State field hockey team, none of them were good.

After beating the Iowa Hawkeyes 1-0 on Friday night at AstroTurf Field, the Nittany Lions had a chance to either share or win the 2006 Big Ten title. The No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers, however, ended Penn State's return to the top, beating them1-0 yesterday. With the Big Ten Tournament coming up, the team now has a lot to question about its play this weekend.

"It's in our hands how the season continues," Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett said. "It was in our hands to win the Big Ten championship and I think a win here today would've given us a lock for the NCAAs. But now we've got to fight to keep the season going."

This was the Hoosiers first ever win against Penn State, ending a string of nine straight wins for the Lions. This was also the first time in 38 games that the Lions were shutout, the last shutout coming in 2004 against Michigan. With this loss, Ohio State took the 2006 Big Ten title and Penn State tied for second place with Indiana.

On Friday night, Penn State turned out a lackluster performance against the Hawkeyes. In the first half, Iowa appeared to be the better team, playing with the intensity that the Lions normally have during home games. Sophomore Allison Scola's second-half goal was the only offense they had all game, despite having nine penalty corners and taking 11 shots.

"We had some really good scoring opportunities that we obviously couldn't capitalize on," Morett said. "I felt that at times we played hesitant and I don't know why. I felt like we just didn't play with as much confidence as we should at this point."

Despite it being Senior Day yesterday, the Lions came out flat again, and this time it was their downfall. Almost five minutes into the game, on Indiana's first corner, the Hoosiers scored the only goal of the game. For the next 65 minutes, Penn State had eight corners and took 13 shots but could not capitalize.

"We honestly couldn't find the cage and we had plenty of chances," Morett said. "We had three outstanding opportunities in the first half to score, and we shot wide. We shot wide too much, and one thing I said was 'Look, I just want you to get the ball on the cage.' And we didn't. I think the biggest thing was when we had chances to shoot the ball, we didn't shoot them on cage."

Defensively, the Lions play this weekend did not reflect their statistics or the way they've played all season. On Friday, they gave up seven corners and yesterday, Indiana got five. Penn State also allowed the opposition to dominate this weekend.

Penn State's inconsistency does not bode well for either the Big Ten Tournament or the NCAAs. With only a few days to prepare before tournament play begins, the Lions have a lot to work on if they are going to be able to compete.

"I do not know if we were nervous or there was a lot of pressure," senior co-captain Annelise Legel said. "Physically we were prepared and we had the abilities. We just didn't play our best and it didn't look like we were prepared."