TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On the back of a career night from graduate midfielder Natalie Wilson, in addition to tallies from freshman forward Aubrey Kulpa and graduate midfielder Rowan Lapi, the fourth-seeded and 22nd-ranked Penn State women’s soccer team advanced to the national quarterfinals of the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship following a 3-1 win over the eighth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores in third-round action from the Seminole Soccer Complex Sunday evening.
Following Sunday night’s triumph in Tallahassee, the Nittany Lions secured their 15th all-time trip to the national quarterfinals and second advancement to the Elite Eight in a row. Penn State played in its eighth consecutive third round match in the NCAA Championships, marking the longest active stretch of Sweet 16 appearances in women’s college soccer. PSU landed its 66th all-time win in the national postseason and improved to 66-27-3 in the NCAA Tournament following its two-goal victory over the Commodores. The Nittany Lions will battle for their sixth appearance in the Women’s College Cup in program history and first bid since bringing home the national championship in 2015 when they battle the second-seeded and eighth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill next Friday, November 29.
The Nittany Lions booked their 15th win of the 2024 season in their result against the Commodores, rising to 15-6-3 overall while remaining unblemished in the NCAA Tournament at 3-0-0 through the third round. Penn State has outscored its first trio of national postseason opponents by a 12-2 margin, with the Blue & White notching multi-goal victories over Stony Brook in the first round in addition to Sunday’s two-goal win over Vanderbilt. The Nittany Lions and Commodores battled for the second time ever in the NCAA Tournament, with Penn State rising to 2-0-0 against Vanderbilt since the only prior meeting of the two programs on May 1, 2021, in the second round of the COVID-adjusted 2021 spring tournament. Vanderbilt concluded its 2024 campaign with a 10-4-7 overall record, with the program reaching its first-ever Sweet 16 thanks to a historic upset of top-seeded and defending national champion Florida State earlier this week.
On the final box score, Penn State was opportunistic and effective on both sides of the pitch in Tallahassee despite surrendering more shots and shots on goal than they forced. Vanderbilt picked up victories on the shot chart with an 18-7 differential in…
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