LONG BEACH, Calif. – Penn State women's soccer junior defender Mieke Schiemann garnered TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week recognition on Tuesday, the organization announced.
Schiemann booked the most dominant offensive performance of her career last week, registering a pair of set piece goals against Princeton to notch a brace for the first time since joining the Blue & White. Schiemann logged her second match-winning goal of the 2023 season in the process, adding to her previous match-winner over the UCF Knights earlier in non-conference play. On the defensive end, Schiemann played 54 minutes and helped hold the reigning United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week, Pietra Tordin, to zero goals and one shot on target.
The Berlin, Germany, native has been instrumental in leading the Nittany Lions to an undefeated record at the conclusion of non-conference play, making the 2023 Penn State women's soccer team just the second to accomplish that feat in program history. The 30th varsity roster in program history joins a 2005 squad that finished 23-0-2 and reached the Women's College Cup. Penn State also continued its dominant stretch of results on Jeffrey Field under Schiemann's watch this season, outscoring its opponent by a 17-1 margin while building a 5-0-1 record at home in University Park.
With two and a half seasons under her belt, Schiemann has cemented herself as one of the premier centerbacks in the Big Ten Conference while contributing heavily to Penn State's success on both sides of the ball. The junior standout has appeared in 47 matches for the Blue & White, making 46 starts and playing a total of 3,591 minutes since the fall of 2021. Schiemann has already matched her total number of goals scored from last season with three, currently maintaining a tie for the top spot on the PSU roster in the category alongside sophomore midfielder Olivia Borgen.
After landing recognition from TopDrawerSoccer, Schiemann secured Penn State's 59th all-time National Team of the Week recognition from the organization in addition to PSU's third accolade of the 2023 season. Senior defender Ellie Wheeler logged the first Nittany Lion national honor of the year after week one following performances against North Carolina and West Chester, while redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean took home honors two weeks ago following a pair of match-winning goals against West Virginia and TCU. Schiemann's award this week marks the third National Team of the Week recognition in her career, joining appearances on Aug. 30 and Nov. 1 of last season.
No. 6 Penn State women's soccer prepares for the fifth and final match of its five-match homestand this week, as the Nittany Lions get set to open Big Ten Conference competition against the Maryland Terrapins on Friday, Sept. 15, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. The match will be streamed to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+. Penn State's Big Ten opener will also serve as the program's senior day, with seven current athletes and two undergraduate support staff members set to be recognized.
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Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women's soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team's Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.
The 30th Season of Penn State women's soccer is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
