UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women’s soccer head coach Erica Dambach announced the return of United Soccer Coaches All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection Kaitlyn MacBean for her final season of collegiate eligibility on Thursday afternoon.
“I am grateful for my time at Penn State and for all of the opportunities I have received thus far,” MacBean expressed. “This program has brought me lifelong friendships and has helped shape me into the person that I am today. I feel like there is unfinished business, so I am thrilled to be returning for my final year of eligibility in 2025. This team is special, and I am so excited to get back to work in Happy Valley!”
MacBean, a native of Excelsior, returns following one of the most decorated individual seasons in recent memory for the Blue & White, becoming the 22nd woman in Penn State program history to haul in United Soccer Coaches All-America accolades in 2024. The veteran striker also extended PSU’s streak of 31 consecutive seasons with a First Team All-Big Ten selection, becoming the 82nd First Team choice in program history. She peaked as the No. 4 player in Division I in a midseason release by TopDrawerSoccer, also landing recognition as the TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Week on September 3 of last season. MacBean’s 2024 resume also saw her become Penn State’s 19th First Team United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American and 28th Scholar All-American all-time. Over her collegiate career, MacBean has been named an All-B1G selection on two occasions, adding B1G All-Freshman Team accolades in 2022 and has earning Academic All-B1G status in every season of her career.
“Our entire coaching staff is extremely excited to have Katilyn MacBean back with us for the 2025 season,” Dambach said. “Kaitlyn is one of the most dominant attacking players in the nation, and her contributions to our program over the past few years have been instrumental in our success both on and off the field. Being able to welcome back a returning All-American and First Team All-Big Ten caliber player is an opportunity we could never pass up, and we cannot wait to see all that our team can accomplish this year with Katilyn back on the field.”
MacBean continued her decorated Penn State women’s soccer career with her most statistically dominant season a year ago, leading the Nittany Lions with a career-best 34 points to become the highest scoring student-athlete in Happy Valley since Maya Hayes booked a 70-point campaign in 2013. She notched the third-longest goal scoring streak in Penn State history, tallying in eight consecutive matches beginning in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament and concluding after PSU’s 2-1 win over Saint Louis in 2024. She appeared and started in all 25 matches for PSU in its run to the National Quarterfinals, amassing 1,645 minutes of action on the pitch. Her 34 points ranked third in the Big Ten Conference and 15th nationally, while her 1.36 points per match stood fifth in the league. MacBean scored 16 goals and added two assists to reach the 34-point threshold, with her 16 total goals standing as the most at PSU since Hayes’ 19 tallies in 2013. Additionally, MacBean registered six match-winning goals for the Blue & White, the second most in the country and seventh most nationally.
Over the course of her decorated career with the Blue & White, MacBean has appeared in 67 total matches, making 45 starts and tallying 3,831 total minutes of time on the field since her debut campaign in the fall of 2022. Her 29 collegiate goals are coupled with nine total assists for a grand total of 67 points, making her the highest-scoring active student-athlete on the Penn State roster heading into the program’s 32nd varsity season. MacBean has improved on her single-season goal scoring total in every season of her career, catapulting from three goals in 2022 to 10 in 2023 and 16 a season ago. She has found the back of the net for the match-winning tally on 11 occasions highlighted by a single-season career best of six a year ago, cementing her place as one of the most clutch marquee performers in women’s college soccer.
With the return of MacBean headlining the 2025 offseason, Penn State prepares for its 32nd varsity campaign following the team’s second straight run to the National Quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championships and 15th Elite Eight appearance all-time. The Nittany Lions are fresh off a 15-7-3 season coupled with a 5-4-2 finish in Big Ten Conference play en route to a B1G Tournament quarterfinal appearance. The Nittany Lions welcome the return of five starters from last year’s Elite Eight squad in addition to MacBean, namely goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress, defenders Kayleigh Herr and Bella Ayscue, midfielder Molly Martin and forward Amelia White. On the front line, PSU welcomes back rising sophomore sensation Aubrey Kulpa, as well as UCLA transfer Taylor Cheatham to help bolster the goal-scoring unit in the 2025 season.
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