No. 5 Women’s Soccer Set for Top-10 Matchup at No. 9 Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 5 Michigan State women’s soccer (7-0-2, 2-0 B1G) travels to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a 2 p.m. match at No. 9 Penn State (8-1-1, 2-0 B1G) on Sunday, Sept. 22.

The game will air nationally on Big Ten Network.

FIRST TOUCH

MSU defeated its defending Big Ten co-champion Nebraska in East Lansing on Thursday, Sept. 19 in a commanding 4-1 victory for the Spartans’ fourth-straight win. The Spartans’ 7-0-2 record through their first nine games is MSU’s best start since 2009, where the Spartans also went 7-0-2 to start the season.

For the second-straight game, a different Spartan scored each goal in a multi-goal win. Graduate students Meg Hughes and Emily Mathews notched first-half goals, while senior Jordyn Wickes and sophomore Ella Janz added goals in the second half. Hughes’ goal brought her team-leading point toal to 14 and Mathews’ goal was her team-leading sixth of the season.

MSU is ranked fifth in the United Soccer Coaches Poll for the third-straight week after earning a program-high ranking at No. 4 on Aug. 27. The Spartans played three top-15 opponents in non-conference action claimed the top spot in the first NCAA RPI of the season, which was released on Monday this week.

SCOUTING PENN STATE

Penn State is led by head coach Erica Dambach, who holds a 282-93-30 record in 18 seasons with the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions are 8-1-1 this season and 2-0 in the conference after most recently defeating Northwestern in a 1-0 home win on Sept. 19. 

Senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean leads Penn State in scoring (21) and goals (10) this season and ranks second in the league and third in the NCAA in goals scored. Senior midfielder Jordan Fusco has registered a team-leading six assists in 2024. Fusco assisted on a MacBean game-winner against Northwestern.

Sunday’s meeting between MSU and Penn State will be the 33rd all-time between the two squads. Penn State holds a 26-6 edge in the series, including an 11-1 record in University Park. MSU’s only road win in the series came in its last trip to Penn State on Sept. 29, 2022, where the Spartans defeated then-No. 6 Penn State, 2-1. Current Spartans Justina Gaynor and Jordyn Wickes scored goals in that match.

Penn State won the last meeting in the series, 3-1, last season on Oct. 1 in East Lansing. Prior to that game, the Nittany Lions edged…