No. 20 Nittany Lions Travel East to Battle Maryland Thursday – Penn State

KICKIN’ IT

Despite an impressive connection for a score in the first five minutes of play that saw redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean tally her 11th goal of the 2024 campaign, then-No. 19 Penn State battled to a 1-1 draw with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday, October 4, from Jeffrey Field. Despite the deadlocked final score line, the Nittany Lions statistically dominated Rutgers in practically every element of the match. The Blue & White booked their second-most shots in Big Ten Conference play and logged their third-most shots on goal against a B1G challenger this season, attempting 20 total shots with 10 on-target opportunities in the match. PSU more than doubled Rutgers in both shots, 20-9, and shots on goal, 10-5, working to a 1-1 result against the run of play. The Scarlet Knights narrowly triumphed in the corner kick competition, outpacing PSU by a 5-4 margin.

The Scarlet Knights entered Friday night’s match receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, marking PSU’s eighth match of the year against a ranked or receiving-votes opponent, as well as the third such match in the last four outings. Penn State’s final five matches of the year feature three opponents who were ranked or receiving votes in this week’s poll, with all three of those tests coming on the road to close the 2024 Big Ten Conference regular season. MacBean continued her dominant string of individual performances last week, finding the back of the net for her 11th goal of the 2024 season as well as her team-best third goal in Big Ten Conference play. MacBean, a native of Excelsior, Minnesota, leads the Nittany Lions in overall scoring with 23 points in addition to B1G scoring with six points thus far.

TUFF ROAD AHEAD

Penn State will battle three additional teams in conference competition who are currently ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll released on October 8. PSU faces off against Ohio State (#8), USC (#19) and UCLA (RV) over the course of the next five matches, with three of those matchups coming on the road. The Blue & White have faced off against eight opponents to date that were either ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll at the time of the match, with the Nittany Lions cranking out a pair of ranked victories over those foes. PSU opened the year with a 4-0 thrashing of then-No. 4 Texas Tech, adding a 2-1 road win at then-No. 19 Saint Louis as well.