PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 4 Penn State women's soccer picked up its eighth-straight victory Thursday night, defeating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights by a 2-1 margin to pick up the program's first win at Yurcak Field since 2008.
The Nittany Lions' dominant run through the opening half of the season continued against the Scarlet Knights, with PSU improving to 8-0-1 overall with a 2-0 ledger in Big Ten Conference competition. PSU secured its eighth-straight win after the result in central New Jersey, continuing the Blue & White's longest overall win streak since the Nittany Lions hauled in 11 straight back in the 2019 campaign. Penn State's unblemished start to B1G action marks the Nittany Lions' first 2-0 opening in a conference campaign since 2017 and the 16th instance of a 2-0 league start all-time. Following the defeat, Rutgers drops to 0-2 in Big Ten matches with a 4-4-2 record overall this year.
One of the most contentious rivalries in women's college soccer, Penn State extended its slim lead over the Scarlet Knights and improved to 12-9-4 against Rutgers all-time. In the process of securing Thursday night's victory, PSU exorcised its demons on Yurcak Field, picking up the program's first victory at the venue since downing Rutgers in a hard-fought 1-0 overtime decision back in the 2008 regular season. Penn State additionally secured its first all-time regulation 90-minute victory in Piscataway. Coupled with last season's 2-0 victory in University Park, PSU has strung together a pair of wins over the Scarlet Knights for the first time since the 2015 team did so in the regular season meeting and ensuing matchup in the Women's College Cup.
Penn State was dominant in the run of play for the vast majority of the match, with the final lines in the box score corroborating the Nittany Lions' appearance on the pitch. The Blue & White doubled Rutgers up on the shot chart by a 16-8 tally, with PSU managing a slimmer 5-3 victory in the battle for shots on goal. The Nittany Lion offense managed to apply enough pressure to double Rutgers in an additional statistical category, mustering a 4-2 win in the corner kick contest. In line with the rivalry atmosphere, both squads picked up cautions on the evening, with Rutgers called for a pair of yellow cards against Penn State's lone booking.
The balanced Nittany Lion attack continued to spread the love, with five different Penn State student-athletes notching points in the match. Sophomore forward Amelia White broke through for her first goal of the season in the 40th minute of work, a tally that ultimately proved to be the match-winning score. White became the 13th Nittany Lion to appear on the PSU scoring leaderboard this season, with senior+ forward Payton Linnehan adding her third goal of the year to open the scoring back in the 34th. In the passing game, senior defender Ellie Wheeler, as well as redshirt sophomore midfielders Riley Gleason and Julia Raich each booked assists.
Between the pipes, graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman published yet another complete-match outing, turning back a pair of saves while allowing just one Scarlet Knight goal. The Roswell, Georgia, native Nittany Lion has earned the start in each of PSU's first nine matches this year, allowing just a pair of goals while booking 25 total saves for a save percentage of 0.926 this year. The veteran shot-stopper now owns an 8-0-1 individual record on the season, mirroring PSU's unbeaten opening to 2023. For the Scarlet Knights, freshman goaltender Olivia Bodmer let in two Nittany Lion tallies and rejected three attempts, ultimately resulting in a losing decision.
Penn State's dominance in the run of play was put on display early on in the contest, with the Nittany Lions managing almost the entirety of the possession for the first 15 minutes of work. Although Rutgers ripped the first shot of the match in the eighth minute, an off-target attempt by sophomore midfielder Allie Post, the Blue & White managed to rack up the next five shots. PSU's most dangerous opportunity in the early going came from an attack by redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean, who was able to infiltrate the Scarlet Knight penalty area before her attempt sailed high in the 18th minute of work.
Despite dominating the possession battle, Rutgers' back line did a satisfactory job of managing the Nittany Lion pressure through the first half-hour. In the 34th minute, the dam finally broke for Penn State. PSU swung the ball around the left side of the attacking third, with the ball ultimately landing on Gleason's boot around 40 yards away from the goal mouth. With Linnehan clear across the field, the senior+ forward raised her hand to call for a lead pass into the 18. An absolute masterclass service from Gleason cascaded into the Rutgers goal box, with Linnehan meeting the ball with her right foot on the volley to notch PSU's lid-lifting score.
With a one-goal lead in hand, Penn State's attack showed no signs of slowing down, as the Nittany Lions removed all of the energy from Rutgers' defensive unit. As the clock rolled into the 40th minute, Penn State struck once again. A brilliant move from Wheeler allowed her to glide past her Scarlet Knight defender and feed the ball centrally with her right foot around 25 yards away from the goal. A nifty touch pass through traffic from Raich found White streaking down the middle of the field. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native collected the pass and unleashed a merciless right-footed shot from 22 yards out that found the back right corner of the net.
Penn State's two-score lead carried them into halftime, and despite Rutgers' countermeasures after the break, the Nittany Lions managed to remain in control. Desperate for a response, the Scarlet Knights were able to ultimately capitalize on a Penn State error around midfield to bring the score back within one. A Nittany Lion turnover nearing midfield allowed for a Rutgers breakaway opportunity by senior midfielder Sam Kroeger. The Scarlet Knight charged up the pitch and slammed a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner past Asman's reach. Although the Nittany Lion lead was cut in half, the Blue & White back line stood tall for the remainder of the contest to ensure Penn State's eighth-consecutive win.
SCORING SUMMARY
34' – PSU swung the ball around the left side of the attacking third, with the ball ultimately landing on Gleason's boot around 40 yards away from the goal mouth. Gleason's service cascaded into the Rutgers goal box, with Linnehan meeting the ball with her right foot on the volley to notch PSU's lid-lifting score. PSU 1, RUT 0
40' – A brilliant move from Wheeler allowed her to glide past her Scarlet Knight defender and feed the ball centrally with her right foot around 25 yards away from the goal. A touch pass through traffic from Raich found White streaking down the middle of the field, whose right-footed shot from 22 yards out found the back right corner of the net. PSU 2, RUT 0
62' – A Nittany Lion turnover nearing midfield allowed for a Rutgers breakaway opportunity by Kroeger. The Scarlet Knight charged up the pitch and slammed a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner past Asman's reach. PSU 2, RUT 1
UP NEXT
No. 4 Penn State women's soccer returns home to Happy Valley for its third Big Ten Conference contest of the season, as the Nittany Lions play host to a pivotal league matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. (ET), with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women's soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team's Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.
The 30th Season of Penn State women's soccer is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
