With the regular season winding down, the Penn State field hockey team is starting to look beyond just winning games and toward winning championships.

With only five games left in the regular season, the No. 6 Nittany Lions (11-2, 2-1 Big Ten) will take their championship quest on the road tomorrow when they travel to Columbus to take on Big Ten rival Ohio State (5-7, 1-2 Big Ten) at noon at North Turf Field.

"It's getting to be crunch time but it's exciting," senior back Kelly Concini said. "We have an amazing slate of games to end our season on and it could put us in a good position maybe to host [the first round of NCAA tournament]."

The Lions are coming off a week of non-conference battles, including two tough road games against top-10 opponents. Starting the week off on a high note, Penn State trounced Bucknell 8-0, backed up by six different players contributing to the scoring. The Lions then split two games on the road, dropping a 3-1 game to No. 4 Wake Forest and rebounding with a 4-2 victory over No. 7 James Madison.

Senior midfielder Jill Martz says the mental aspect took over, creating nervous and tentative play during the loss to the Demon Deacons, so the team needs to keep up with consistent defense and strong offense.

"The biggest thing is just going out and playing our game," Martz said. "We have a great team and we know it. Sometimes when we get in those big games, we just get so nervous that we're really tentative instead of staying aggressive."

Senior back Kate Bender hurt her hand in the loss to Wake Forest, keeping her out of the James Madison game. While defending a shot, she reached for the ball with her stick, and took a typical shot to the hand. Once the swelling went down, it was determined there were no broken bones, and she will be able to play in tomorrow's game. Freshman Bekah Hostetler filled in well during Bender's absence.

"Right now, I'm just looking at us to make progress from game to game," Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett said. "I don't think we're making smart decisions at different places on the field."

Last weekend saw the Buckeyes shut out Northwestern, 3-0, led by two goals from junior midfielder Mariana Solorzano, who also had seven shots on the game. Solorzano missed several games early on in the season, but has returned as a weapon on the penalty corners. Vanessa Immordino leads Ohio State with eight goals on the year.

While the defending Big Ten regular season champion is not playing to its expected caliber, the team is much better than its record would suggest.

"One of the most important things is that it's a Big Ten game," Concini said. "Whenever you're playing in your own league you take the record completely away."