Consistently strong play — it's what coaches want out of their teams and it is what defines top teams.

The No. 18 Nittany Lions (8-6, 1-3 Big Ten) have consistently played well the past two weekends, leading to a 5-1 win against Northwestern Friday and a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over No. 15 James Madison yesterday on Senior Day. The win against the Dukes (8-6) extended Penn State's winning streak to four games, their longest string of the season.

Forward Timarie Legel, who scored the game-winning goal against the Dukes, said the victory over James Madison was especially important because it was the Lions' second straight win over a ranked team. Penn State defeated No. 5 Princeton last Sunday.

"We just really wanted to come out here and show everyone that we're on a roll now," Legel said.

Penn State dominated the first half of play, out-shooting the Dukes 8-1 and holding a 5-0 advantage in penalty corners. However, James Madison forward Janelle Perlis scored on a breakaway with 6:17 to play in the half to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead at the break. Perlis broke down the left side of the field and dribbled around to the left of goalie Annie Zinkavich before she shot the ball past diving defenders Kate Bender and Kelly Concini.

The Lions tied the game 53 seconds into the second half off a corner, as Kulina passed to back Heather Conroy on her right. Conroy shot the ball and it deflected off a Dukes defender and into the cage, to the left of Dukes goalie Kiernan Raffo.

Legel unknotted the score at the 14:44 mark of the second half, after she received a feed from forward Neilye Stoner. Stoner had dribbled around the right side of the circle and then passed to Legel in front of the net, who deposited the ball behind Raffi.

"Everybody pulled together to get those two goals in," said Kulina, when asked about her assist on the tying goal. "It just wasn't one person."

Stoner contributed on both ends of the field, as she saved a goal off a Dukes' corner, repelling a James Madison shot that had eluded Zinkavich. The save was especially important for maintaining the Lions momentum because it came 1:30 after the Lions had tied the game.

"We trust (Stoner) on that post and she really works hard to get the ball in the circle," Legel said.

Penn State completely dominated an overmatched Northwestern (2-9, 1-3 Big Ten) team Friday.

Kulina earned her first hat trick of her Penn State career in the victory, as she scored the Lions' first, second and fourth goals.

The Lions blitzed the Wildcats with three goals in the first 10 mintues of the opening half. Kulina scored off a corner at the 30:21 mark, with Martz and Concini receiving assists on the goal. Kulina shot the ball, which deflected off a charging Northwestern defender high over the left shoulder of Northwestern goalie Katie Hall.

Kulina then executed a give-and-go with Martz off a corner to score the Lions second goal with 28:08 to play in the first half.

Concini, who recorded career highs with two assists and four points on the day, made the score 3-0 at the 25:07 mark, as she rebounded Neilye Stoner's shot off Hall's stick.

Kulina completed the hat trick with another goal directly off a corner with 32:22 to play in the second half. Concini and Martz received assists on the goal, one of Martz's three assists for the game.

Conroy brought the score to 5-0 with 28:26 to play in the second half, as she beat Hall.

Northwestern midfielder Nicole Smith ended the combined shutout bid of Zinkavich and Heidi Leuchte as she beat Leuchte off a corner.

Even though the Lions didn't record a shutout, they completely dominated the Wildcats for the game.