UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Aided by a dominant offensive effort and stalwart showing from the back line, fourth-seeded and sixth-ranked Penn State women's soccer cruised to a domineering 3-0 result against the fifth-seeded and 24th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal action Sunday afternoon on Jeffrey Field.
PSU's resounding victory over Indiana bumped the Nittany Lions' season record to 13-1-4 overall on the season and 7-1-3 against Big Ten Conference opponents in the 2023 season. Penn State finished with a 6-1-3 mark in regular season play to book the fourth seed in the league table and secured their second victory over Indiana at Jeffrey Field this season. The Nittany Lions continue to dominate the all-time series against the Cream & Crimson, securing their 30th win over IU all-time and moving to 30-1-3 against the Hoosiers since the first meeting in 1994. In defeat, Indiana drops to 12-3-4 overall and awaits their fate in the NCAA Tournament selection show next Monday, Nov. 6.
Penn State's opening-round defense of its 2022 Big Ten Tournament championship coincided with the program's 28th B1G Tournament appearance all-time, with the Nittany Lions improving to 40-13-6 overall in the league's postseason event. PSU's quarterfinal appearance ensured that the Blue & White remain the only team in league history to appear in every conference tournament, with the only two exceptions coming in the 2009 and 2010 seasons when no tournament was held. Penn State's 3-0 scoring margin against the Hoosiers on Sunday saw the Nittany Lions' all-time scoring differential in the tournament climb to 97-51. Overall, the league's most storied program will make its 19th B1G Tournament semifinal showing on Thursday against the eighth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes in Columbus.
Sunday's final statistics belie what was an overwhelming Nittany Lion success in the run of play, as both teams ended the fixture with a deadlocked 11-11 tally in total shot attempts on the afternoon. PSU found its separation by generating quality scoring chances, as the Nittany Lions dominated the battle for shots on goal by doubling IU up, 8-4. Indiana's late-match pressure afforded the Hoosiers a trio of corner kick attempts, while the Blue & White were held without a corner of their own for the first time in the 2023 campaign. Overall, Indiana was far more aggressive in their challenges, with the Hoosiers cautioned twice and called for 14 fouls against Penn State's eight.
Redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean was remarkable in her first career postseason start, notching a match-high-tying four shot attempts with a match-high four shots on goal in the process. The Excelsior, Minnesota, native found the back of the net midway through the second half on a spectacular individual effort and assisted on the match-winning goal earlier in the first. Senior defender Eva Alonso found the back of the net for the second time in her collegiate career and first time since an NCAA Tournament goal against Vanderbilt on May 1, 2021. Additionally, sophomore forward Amelia White tacked on an insurance goal against her home state's flagship institution, with the Fort Wayne native notching the fourth score of her collegiate career.
In the passing game, four different Nittany Lions recorded a total of four assists in the competition, with MacBean leading the way following her second dish of 2023. Senior+ midfielder Cori Dyke and sophomore midfielder Olivia Borgen each recorded assists on White's goal minutes later, while redshirt sophomore midfielder Riley Gleason tallied her fourth assist of the year on MacBean's score. Borgen, a native of Hanson, Massachusetts, mustered her first collegiate assist and Dyke logged her third of the season and fifth of her career.
Graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman continues to impress as the most successful goalkeeper in the Big Ten Conference, with the Roswell, Georgia, native registering a four-save shutout in 90 minutes of action. Asman notched her eighth shutout of the 2023 campaign and secured the 26th shutout of her storied career. With her four saves on the board at the conclusion of Sunday's contest, Asman moved into third place all-time in the Penn State record book with 308 career stops. For Indiana, junior and reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Jamie Gerstenberg allowed three goals in the contest and recorded four saves, with the Hoosier backline credited for an additional team save.
Penn State roared out of the gates and never looked back, with the Blue & White tallying the first four shots of the match in the opening 10 minutes of play. Indiana responded with a few shot attempts of their own, but no Hoosier try applied any significant pressure to the Nittany Lion back four through the early going. PSU broke the doors down in the 21st minute of work, as MacBean charged into the box and side-stepped to the left inside the 18 to create room for a shot. Her attempt flew toward the center of the net for what appeared to be an easy save, but Gerstenberg lost control of the rebound and Alonso was there to clean things up into the empty net.
With the 1-0 lead in hand, Penn State wasted no time bolstering their early advantage as the Nittany Lions found the back of the net once more in the 25th minute. The scoring play began around the midfield circle, where Dyke collected the ball and fed it forward to Borgen around 35 yards away from the goal. Borgen took two dribbles to her right and timed a brilliant service forward to White, who masterfully outpaced the entire Indiana defense to find an open clearing. White moved the ball quickly to her left to beat Gerstenberg and buried the ball into the back of the net with her left foot into the bottom right corner.
The Blue & White entered the intermission with a two-goal advantage on the scoreboard and maintained it for the first 15 minutes of the second period before registering yet another score. PSU utilized yet another long service from the defending half of the field to book a breakaway score, with Gleason assuming possession of the ball beyond the midfield line. Gleason demolished the ball and sent it forward to the left, where MacBean collected the ball and moved centrally. One touch with her left boot moved the ball toward the front of the goal mouth around 10 yards out, where her right-footed blast snuck past Gerstenberg into the bottom left corner. With three goals on the board, PSU held firm defensively and came away with an emphatic 3-0 result on Jeffrey Field.
SCORING SUMMARY
21' – MacBean charged into the box and side-stepped to the left inside the 18 to create room for a shot. Her attempt flew toward the center of the net for what appeared to be an easy save, but Gerstenberg lost control of the rebound and Alonso was there to clean things up into the empty net. PSU 1, IU 0
25' – Dyke collected the ball and fed it forward to Borgen around 35 yards away from the goal. Borgen took two dribbles to her right and timed a brilliant service forward to White, who masterfully outpaced the entire Indiana defense to find an open clearing. White moved the ball quickly to her left to beat Gerstenberg and buried the ball into the back of the net. PSU 2, IU 0
52' – Gleason assumed possession of the ball beyond the midfield line, where she demolished the ball and sent it forward to the left. MacBean collected the ball and moved centrally and one touch with her left boot moved the ball toward the front of the goal mouth around 10 yards out. MacBean's right-footed blast snuck past Gerstenberg into the bottom left corner. PSU 3, IU 0
UP NEXT
No. 6 Penn State continues its run through the 2023 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament, with the fourth-seeded Nittany Lions set to square off against the eighth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes in a pivotal semifinal matchup next Thursday, Nov. 2. The B1G semifinals and final return to Columbus, Ohio, and Lower.com Field, home of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. Both the semifinals and the tournament final will air live on Big Ten Network and the FOX Sports App, with kick times to be announced when available.
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.
