It is official: the Penn State field hockey team is on a winning streak.

The No. 7 Nittany Lions made the trip to No. 20 Syracuse and blanked the Orangewomen 2-0 yesterday at Coyne Field.

Penn State is now 5-0 on the season and has won 11 straight non-conference games.

"It was a very competitive game," said Penn State field hockey coach Charlene Morett. "We played an outstanding first 15 minutes and controlled the first half."

On the offensive front, the Penn State was led by Amanda Eckert and Heather Conroy, both netting one goal a piece in the victory.

Eckert's goal came with just under eight minutes in the first half, as she was able to push a quick shot past the short side of the Syracuse goalie.

Her goal yesterday gives her two on the season.

"Our speed of passing was good in the first 15 minutes," said Eckert. "In the second half, we seemed to be on defense a little more."

The rest of the half saw neither team score, but remained highly contested.

"Syracuse came out strong in the second half but our defense led by Kate Bender and Kelly Concini did a great job to seal the win," said Morett.

The veteran defense needed to step up, as the Orangewomen outshot Penn State in the second half 5-4.

"I don't think we played at the level we wanted today," said Jill Martz. "A 2-0 win on a performance that wasn't our best says a lot."

Help came in the form of a Conroy unassisted goal, which put the game away for the Nittany Lions.

Conroy is the field hockey team's points leader with 16.

"Starting out 5-0 is awesome," said Conroy. "We've played some great teams. We're in a great position now, but there's always things to improve."

This week's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, goalie Annie Zinkavich, claimed her third shutout of the season.

With yesterday's game, Zinkavich and the rest of the Penn State defense has given up only two goals in five games.

"Defense starting from the forwards on back played well," said Conroy. "The forwards were able to pressure their backs as well."

The Nittany Lions get set to square off against St. Joseph's this Saturday as they play one of their last games before the start of Big Ten Conference play.