For the Penn State women's soccer team, beating Northwestern on Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament wasn't an accomplishment. It was a check mark.

The Lions, who defeated Illinois 3-1 yesterday to win their first tournament title since 2001, accomplished the elusive Big Ten double -- winning both the Big Ten regular season and Big Ten Tournament titles.

After completing the first step on the three game journey to the tournament crown, the nine-time defending conference champions defeated a dangerous Michigan team, 2-0, on Friday. Defender Jessie Davis and forward Ashley Myers, who each netted a goal in the shutout, led the effort.

While the thought of playing for the title on Jeffrey Field on Sunday was in the back of the players' mind, having a focused performance against Michigan gave head coach Paula Wilkins more confidence before the championship game.

"Today made me feel a lot better about going into Sunday," Wilkins said Friday after defeating the Wolverines. "If we can put together performances like that, we're gonna be very difficult to beat."

"Difficult to beat," proved to be an understatement, as the Lions continued to roll, defeating an Illinois team that won a tough 3-2 game against them in early October.

Seeking revenge on the Fighting Illini began with a goal by senior Sarah Dwyer in the 21st minute. Dwyer's score, which was her 8th of the season, was assisted by Aubrey Aden-Buie.

"It was kinda one of those things where I saw Aubrey taking off down the field and I was like, 'Here we go.' She played a great ball in and I just happened to be at the right place getting by my defender," Dwyer said.

However, 16 minutes later, Illinois was able to respond with its own goal, coming from Ella Masar. The ball went through the hands of Penn State keeper Alyssa Naeher. The goal was a letdown, but didn't cause the team to lose any concentration.

"The biggest thing was that we didn't panic and the players kept playing," Wilkins said. "They were confident in each other, they knew they gave up a goal, but they knew they would be able to score some more. I saw them binding together, which is not what I saw in the beginning of the season."

Playing mentally tough after Illinois tied the game was almost as easy as the second goal of the game for Penn State. Midfielder Allie Long put the Lions up 2-1 with a clean penalty kick into the back of the net.

Long's goal, which occurred quickly after Masar's unassisted score, was a turning point in the game for the Lions.

"I think [the penalty kick] was a little bit momentum changer and enabled us to get the third goal also," Wilkins said. "It was the pressure we were putting on them and getting numbers in the box. It definitely helped us."

That third goal was freshman Katie Schoepfer's eighth of the season, and gave Penn State a two-score lead, which it held for the rest of the game.

As time expired and the Lions captured the rare Big Ten double, the seniors on the team who fought through adversity in the beginning of the season had a chance to celebrate successful Big Ten careers.

"I couldn't be happier right now," Dwyer said. "This is one of the things I wanted to do my entire four years here, and to be able to do it my senior year is awesome."