UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Despite an impressive left-footed finish in the 30th minute from graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean that put the Nittany Lions up a tally, the eighth-ranked Penn State women’s soccer team ultimately played to a level 1-1 result with the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Thursday evening at Jeffrey Field.
Following the evening’s result in Central Pennsylvania, Penn State moved to 5-2-2 overall with a 1-0-1 start in Big Ten Conference action. The Nittany Lions remain unbeaten in their last three fixtures and have outscored opponents by an 8-1 differential in that span. Nebraska remains undefeated following Thursday night’s miraculous draw, with the Huskers moving to 5-0-4 overall while remaining winless in Big Ten action at 0-0-2. In the all-time series between the two programs, Penn State maintains its dominant lead and boasts an 8-3-3 advantage since the first meeting in 2011 when Nebraska migrated to the B1G.
The final stat sheet suggested a largely level match between a pair of intense Big Ten challengers, with the Blue & White picking up a narrow 9-8 advantage on the shot chart, with Nebraska taking the margin in on-target attempts by a 4-3 split. Penn State has won the margin in total shots in each of the last three contests dating to PSU’s 3-0 win over the Liberty Flames on the road on September 7. The Cornhuskers picked up a decided advantage in the corner kick competition, defeating PSU by a 7-1 margin in the category, including the match-leveling Olimpico score in the 90th minute of play. Nebraska once again played an overtly physical style of soccer that earned the ire of Thursday’s center referee, with the visitors from Lincoln logging a trio of yellow cards in addition to a PSU opponent season-high 11 foul calls on the night.
MacBean, a native of Excelsior, Minnesota, continued her impressive individual start to Big Ten Conference competition with another tally to her credit, bringing her scoring total against B1G opposition to three goals thus far. In league play, MacBean is single-handedly responsible for three of Penn State’s five conference tallies to date. The veteran striker is up to four goals on the campaign and nine points, good enough to move into sole possession of second place on the PSU roster behind sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa. Elsewhere in the attack, redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason distributed her seventh assist of the 2025 campaign on the goal from MacBean, marking her third consecutive match with at least one helper. Gleason, a native of Mission Viejo, California, entered the evening as the Big Ten’s leading assist-getter, and will likely maintain that status through the conclusion of Thursday night’s play across the conference.
In the attack, Penn State was led by a quartet of shots and pair of on-target efforts from MacBean, with Kulpa placing a pair of tries on the box score with one attempt on-frame. The Nittany Lions also picked up shot attempts from senior forward Amelia White, sophomore defender Bella Ayscue and redshirt freshman defender Lilly Burger. A quartet of Penn State fielders played all 90 minutes in the second B1G fixture of the season, with Ayscue and Burger joining redshirt junior defender Kayleigh Herr and freshman defender Hannah Jordan. In goal, redshirt junior keeper Mackenzie Gress went all 90 minutes and notched a trio of saves, one shy of her season high against Virginia from September 4. For the Huskers, Cece Villa played the full 90 and saved a pair of on-target attempts while allowing the PSU first-half score.
The first 15 minutes of Thursday’s action passed without a single shot attempt registering for either program, but the early moments of the fixture belied what would become an extremely competitive 90 minutes of soccer. Penn State was able to regroup after the quiet opening to notch the first five shots of the match, with the Blue & White able to find the back of the net on their fifth try of the night in the 30th minute of play. Strong play in the attacking midfield set the tone for the score, with Gleason ultimately able to win possession for PSU on a skillful tackle around 30 yards out. The veteran distributor lifted a perfect pass to MacBean on the nearside of the 18, where the Nittany Lion striker took a pair of dribbles into the box before slotting a precise left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the Nebraska goal for a 1-0 Penn State edge.
Nebraska was able to bounce back with a shot on goal shortly after play restarted, but both programs were able to settle down and return to the locker room with Penn State wielding a one-score edge. Out of the break, the relatively calm nature of play in both attacking ends persisted, with neither team able to get a hold of a shot on goal until deep in the second half of action. Penn State nearly netted a match-sealing score in the 87th minute, with Kulpa in a one-on-one break against Villa, but the Husker keeper was able to come way off her line and challenge the Nittany Lion attacker to prevent the 2-0 lead.
With time winding down for the Cornhuskers, the visiting squad was able to apply pressure and win back-to-back corners in the final 90 seconds of action. Senior defender Lauren Anglim delivered the first ball from the nearside of the pitch straight on frame, with Gress forced to make a miraculous tip save to preserve the Nittany Lion advantage. Unfortunately, the ball went out off Gress’ glove to net another Husker corner kick from the far side, where Anglim stood watch over the ball yet again. She utilized another in-swinging service to test Gress yet again, and the ball took a ricochet off the back post into the lower left portion of the net to equalize. After a VAR check ensured the goal would stand on the board, both teams departed Jeffrey Field with a 1-1 draw in the books.
SCORING SUMMARY
30’ – Gleason won possession for PSU on a skillful tackle around 30 yards out. The veteran distributor lifted a perfect pass to MacBean on the nearside of the 18, where the Nittany Lion striker took a pair of dribbles into the box before slotting a precise left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the Nebraska goal. PSU 1, NEB 0
90’ – On Nebraska’s second corner attempt in the final 90 seconds of play, Anglim utilized an in-swinging service to test Gress, and the ball took a ricochet off the back post into the lower left portion of the net to equalize. A VAR check from the center referee confirmed the tally moments later. PSU 1, NEB 1
UP NEXT
No. 8 Penn State women's soccer concludes its three-match B1G-opening homestand this Sunday afternoon, September 21, as the Nittany Lions play host to the Wisconsin Badgers. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. (ET) from Jeffrey Field, with the match slated to stream to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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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 2025 Penn State women's soccer season is presented by Highmark.