UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Just one year ago, Kim Dubs was playing soccer in her native home of Switzerland. Fast forward 365 days and she's in Happy Valley helping the Nittany Lions exact revenge on the defending regular season Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
Dubs, a freshman forward from Zurich, Switzerland, played an important role in Penn State's 4-0 win to open the 2018 conference slate. After a slow start by the Nittany Lions and a scoreless game through the first thirty minutes, coach Dambach subbed in Dubs to provide a spark for her team. The newcomer delivered in a big way.
Dubs put her team up 1-0 in the 31st minute as she finished a ball that bounced around the box for her second goal of the year. Just six minutes later, Dubs added to what was a very impressive Big Ten debut performance. She had a beautiful cross that lead to a Charlotte Williams header, giving Penn State a 2-0 lead.
"I was very happy when I got called in," Dubs said. "I felt really energetic and the team did a great job in doing exactly what we practiced the whole week."
When asked if it was difficult, as a substitute, to be thrown into the fire against a very good Ohio State team, Dubs didn't hesitate in her answer: "Not with this team."
Dubs, who is currently in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, has not only appeared in all eight games for Penn State this season, but has really impressed with her success early on. Head coach Erica Dambach talked about the play of her freshman.
"Kim Dubs is a very good player," Dambach said as she smiled ear to ear. "With her goal and assist, she changed the game. She came in and immediately changed the game, and that's what you want with a player coming off the bench."
Dambach continued on to rave about Dubs and how quickly she has grasped the difficult transition from an international styled game to college soccer.
"Bringing international (student-athletes) into the group their first year is really hard for them to understand college soccer," the 12th year coach added. "With two games a week, that's not a routine they're used to. It takes time for them to get into it. I think now she's starting to understand and you're just going to see her getting better and better as the season goes on."
Fellow forward Frankie Tagliaferri, who also added a goal and assist Friday night, praised Dubs' work ethic and ability to always stay ready.
"I think she's doing great in whatever role she's put in," Tagliaferri said. "Whether she's starting or she's coming off the bench, she's really working hard with whatever she's given. She's also in practice working hard."
As for the team's big win to start the season off 1-0 in the Big Ten, Dambach was very pleased with how her team played.
"There's a lot of good pieces on Ohio State, but it was a real team performance for us. It's what we've been waiting for in terms of the response for our group. They've had some disappointing results, some disappointing performances, and tonight they came out and it was all action. They trained that way all week, and now we see the results," Dambach said.
The Nittany Lions will now turn their attention to Northwestern, as they will travel to Evanston to play the Wildcats next Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
