No. 23 Penn State women’s soccer officially begins conference play against Michigan Thursday, but some improvements need to be made if the Nittany Lions are to defend their Big Ten title.

Head coach Erica Dambach’s squad took a serious hit in the collegiate rankings this week, dropping 15 spots after holding a steady No. 8 placement over several matches. The Nittany Lions are coming off a rough stretch of matches where they dropped consecutive home games against Oklahoma State and No. 1 Virginia.

Though Penn State’s defense, consisting of outside backs Ellie Jean and Kate Wiesner, center backs Kaleigh Riehl and Laura Suero, and goalkeeper Kat Asman, has put together several impressive performances, the team has been hamstrung by momentary lapses of concentration that have cost them matches.

These mistakes are particularly prevalent when the team defends set pieces. Against James Madison, the Nittany Lions conceded a goal 40 seconds after kickoff on a corner. Against Oklahoma State, miscommunication between Asman and her defenders led to this equalizer:

Penn State had a six-player advantage in the box later in the match, but Kim Rodriguez’s thumping header won the match for the Cowgirls.

After Ally Schlegel scored a late equalizer against Virginia, Penn State conceded a winner — albeit an impressive goal from a pinpoint cross — thirty seconds later.

“We’ve got to be responsible in our response at that point,” Dambach said after the Virginia match.

These mistakes are magnified, however, by the extreme quality of Nittany Lions’ non-conference opponents. They’ve faced three ranked opponents — two inside the top five — already this season, drawing against West Virginia and losing by a single goal to both Stanford and Virginia.

Penn State’s backline is also still building its own chemistry. While Jean and Riehl have been fixtures of Dambach’s squad for several years, Suero and freshman Wiesner, have stepped into the starting lineup for the first time. Dambach’s starting XI could shift again against Michigan — both Wiesner and Suero were subbed off after picking up injuries against Virginia, and their status for Thursday’s match is unknown.

“Non-conference play is great because there’s so much we learn about ourselves as a team but also individually,” Jean, who is also an attacking threat from right back, said. “As a back four, I think we’ve been doing great so far.”

Asman, a redshirt freshman, replaced the absent Amanda Dennis in goal and made her first start for the Nittany Lions against West Virginia. In addition to several impressive saves, including a game-saving penalty stop against the Dukes, Asman is developing into a leader behind Riehl and Suero.

“She’s fitting in perfectly,” Jean said. “Even keeping us calm in times that we need to be kept calm. She’s come up really big for us these last couple of games.”

Jean said that the unit was focusing on “the little details” of its game in an effort to combat the occasional lapses that have set the team back so far.

Though they are unranked, the 5-2 Wolverines arrive in State College in good form with recent victories over Bowling Green and Washington State. The Nittany Lions will rely on Schlegel, who is currently on a six-game scoring streak, to relieve some of the pressure from the front.

Penn State’s defense will meanwhile be tasked with containing Michigan top scorer Sarah Stratigakis, who has scored three goals and assisted three others so far this season. But with renewed focused and continued improvement, the Nittany Lions are confident in this season’s prospects.

“We just try to remind ourselves that it’s a process,” Jean said. “And every game we’re learning something different.”