BEFORE PENN STATE
A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Boyden joined the Nittany Lions following two seasons at UCLA, in addition to a pair of seasons with the Washington State Cougars... Boyden is fresh off a productive 2025 campaign in which she helped anchor the Bruin lineup on both ends of the pitch, appearing in 16 matches while making 12 starts for one of the most formidable defenses in all of women’s college soccer... Boyden notched a goal and assist off the back line in 2025, with that tally going in the book as the match-winner at Portland on September 4... Boyden saw over 1,000 minutes in both of her seasons at UCLA, helping spearhead the top-ranked defensive unit in major college soccer with a .470 team goals-against average... At Washington State, Boyden was a breakout star in 2022 after playing in 18 fixtures with a trio of starts, finishing the season with two goals and three assists... Boyden was the No. 70 freshman in the nation according to TopDrawerSoccer but was ultimately sidelined in 2023 due to a season-ending injury sustained in the spring that preceded her transfer to UCLA.
HIGH SCHOOL & CLUB
Played high school soccer at Skyline High school, being named Athlete of the Year while earning All-America honors as well as being named the state of Utah's Ms. Soccer according to the Desert News as a senior… Finished the year with 34 goals and 12 assists en route to being named first team all-league and all-state as she led her team to a 20-0 record, 5A state title and the No. 6 ranking in the country… Played her club ball for La Roca Premier in the ECNL… Earned all-conference honors out of the Northwest as well as a spot on the Academy Top Scorers List… Went to the Boys State Cup in 2020 as a member of the La Roca 2004 U17 ECNL team, netting three goals in the attack for her squad… Secured a spot in the U18/19 women's national team virtual training camp… Excelled in track and field at Skyline, as a short and middle distance runner… Departed as the school record holder in the 100, 200, and 400m... Won the regional championship in the 100, 200, 400, and 800m as well as the 4x400 relay… Named to the track and field Utah All-State Team in the 100, 200, 400, and 800m distances… High honor roll student at Skyline and AP scholar with distinction.
PERSONAL
Daughter of Tom and Sarah Boyden... Has three brothers, Thomas, Jacob and Xander and two sisters, Annie and Vivienne... Thomas was a track & field and cross country athlete at Stanford and BYU from 2020-26 while sister, Annie, currently plays soccer at Villanova. Mother, Sarah, ran track & field and cross country at BYU as well... Boyden joins Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in addition to a Master of Legal Studies and will pursue a Psychology of Leadership graduate certificate in Happy Valley... The Salt Lake City, Utah native hopes to continue her soccer career professionally and is looking into law school following her playing days... In her free time, Boyden loves to read, travel and spend time with her family.
WHY PENN STATE
“I am excited to finish out my collegiate career at Penn State, where I can continue to develop as both a player and a person. The coaching staff is incredible, and I cannot wait to train with them and my new teammates. I am super grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this program and university.”