WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 4 Penn State women's soccer hits the road to open its penultimate match week in Big Ten Conference play, as the Nittany Lions get set for a Thursday-night test against the Purdue Boilermakers. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) on Folk Field, with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+.
MATCH INFORMATION
#4 PENN STATE at PURDUE
Thursday, October 12, 2023 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Folk Field | West Lafayette, Ind.
Watch Live: B1G+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
FOLLOW THE ACTION
For fans in Central Pennsylvania, and members of Nittany Nation around the world, Penn State's contest against the Boilermakers will be streamed live via B1G+. Authenticated subscribers are invited to click here and sign in on their mobile phones, computers, smart TVs and other connected devices to follow along. JJ Palmer will provide live play-by-play commentary during Thursday night's tilt. Live stats provided by Purdue University and StatBroadcast are available by clicking here.
KICKIN' IT
The Blue & White return to work following a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes last Sunday on Jeffrey Field, with redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean booking her first collegiate brace to propel PSU. Penn State fell behind by a 1-0 margin early on, but a pair of scores from the Excelsior, Minnesota, native brought PSU its fifth B1G win. Penn State's defensive effort has been the most effective in the Big Ten Conference, with the Nittany Lions leading the league in goals-against average (0.462) and save percentage (0.870). The Blue & White rank 10th in Division I in goals against average and 14th nationally in save percentage. Graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman garnered her second Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week award of the 2023 campaign, the B1G office announced Tuesday afternoon. The veteran Nittany Lion shot-stopper turned back four Ohio State shots on goal and notched her 10th complete-match outing of the season. Additionally, Asman became just the fourth player in program history to join the illustrious 50-win club in a goalkeeping career.
LAST TIME OUT: OHIO STATE
Redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean equalized the match late in the first half and headed in the match-winning score with less than three minutes to play as No. 4 Penn State downed the Ohio State Buckeyes by a 2-1 margin Sunday afternoon on Jeffrey Field. Ohio State was victorious on the shot chart, outpacing Penn State by a 17-10 tally overall, but the Nittany Lions managed a slim 6-5 decision in shots on goal that proved to be fatal. The Buckeyes ran up an 8-2 edge in the corner kick battle and notched their only goal of the contest on a set-piece opportunity from a corner in the 36th minute. The Ohio State goal in the first period made Penn State the 336th and final team in NCAA Division I women's soccer to surrender a go-ahead goal in 2023.
BEANY BALL
Redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean has carved out a reputation for herself as one of the premier clutch players in the Big Ten Conference. The Excelsior, Minnesota, native has notched a quartet of match-winning goals for the Blue & White this season, booking the decisive score against West Virginia, TCU, Michigan State and Ohio State. MacBean's propensity for logging match-winning goals places her as the second-best clutch performer in the Big Ten Conference while tying for ninth nationally. She trails Nebraska star Eleanor Dale for the league lead in match-winners, with the Cornhusker tied for the Division I lead in the category with six this season. The ascendant Nittany Lion has already surpassed her single-season career high in goals scored with five this year. MacBean ranks second overall on the roster with 10 points in 2023.
PREPPING FOR PURDUE
Led by nine-year head coach Drew Roff, Purdue enters Thursday evening's contest managing a 3-10-1 overall record coupled with an 0-5-1 start to Big Ten Conference play. The Boilermakers opened B1G competition with a narrow 1-0 home defeat against Northwestern, drew with Maryland and then dropped four straight against Rutgers, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana. On the pitch, sophomore forward Kayla Budish leads the team in scoring with eight points split between three goals and a pair of assists. Emily Mathews and Abigail Roy pace the squad with a quartet of assists apiece, while transfer keeper Charlotte Cyr paces the team with 46 saves.
STORY OF THE SERIES
One of the most dominant all-time series in the Penn State record book, the Nittany Lions enter their 23rd meeting against the Boilermakers boasting a striking 19-1-2 overall record highlighted by a 17-match unbeaten streak and three-match win streak. The Nittany Lions make the trek to West Lafayette for the first time since the 2019 season, when the Blue & White registered a thrilling 2-1 win over the Boilermakers on Oct. 13. PSU and Purdue last met in the 2021 campaign when the Nittany Lions edged the then-No. 19 Boilermakers by a narrow 2-1 margin on Jeffrey Field. Purdue's Sarah Griffith opened the scoring in the 58th, but PSU tallied two unanswered in the 62nd and 78th.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
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.
