UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Second-seeded and fifth-ranked Penn State women's soccer utilized a dominant first half and unwavering defense to pick up an impressive 2-0 result over the Santa Clara Broncos in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship Friday night on Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions advanced to their seventh consecutive third-round appearance, tying for the longest active streak in the NCAA with Florida State.
With Penn State's victory over the Broncos, the Nittany Lions improved to 15-2-4 overall and secured the program's second consecutive 15-win season after booking a 15-5-3 finish a season ago. The Blue & White played in their 15th-consecutive NCAA Tournament second-round match on Friday evening, the second-longest streak in Division I women's soccer behind Florida State's 19-straight second-round outings. PSU also continued to build on its all-time lead against the Broncos following the sixth meeting of the two programs, improving to 4-1-1 against SCU since the first meeting in 1996. In defeat, Santa Clara falls to 14-5-2 overall and bows out in the second round of the tournament for the second year in a row.
PSU's historic run of success in the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament carried on against Santa Clara, with the Nittany Lions climbing to 61-26-3 all-time in the event with an awe-inspiring 45-7-1 ledger in NCAA Tournament matches played on Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions secured their seventh consecutive third-round appearance in the tournament, reaching the colloquially titled Sweet 16 in every season since 2017. PSU seeks its first appearance in the national quarterfinals since securing back-to-back quarterfinal trips in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Friday's historic performance on Jeffrey Field saw the Nittany Lions maintain a stalwart effort defensively, with the Broncos picking up a 13-5 win on the shot chart overall. The Blue & White were more accurate in their limited attempts, managing to place all five of their total shots on frame while Santa Clara finished the night with just four on-target tries. PSU was held without a corner kick attempt for the second time this season, an even more significant anomaly when considering that Penn State has outscored its opponent by a combined 5-0 margin this season when failing to record a corner. Santa Clara's attacking pressure culminated in eight corners, with the Broncos unable to connect on any of their set-piece opportunities.
Senior+ forward Payton Linnehan and redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean were unstoppable Friday night, with both attackers recording goals individually while assisting on each other's scores. The result marked the first such performance of the season for Linnehan, while MacBean's three-point night mirrored her goal and assist against Indiana in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Oct. 29. Sophomore midfielder Olivia Borgen also found her way onto the stat sheet, contributing an assist on MacBean's goal early in the first half which proved to be the match winner. MacBean, a native of Excelsior, Minnesota, notched her fifth match-winning goal of the season for the Blue & White, moving her into a tie for 12th nationally in the category.
Graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman was a powerful force between the posts, orchestrating the Penn State backline in its 12th shutout through 21 matches played in the 2023 campaign. Asman, a native of Roswell, Georgia, played all 90 minutes in goal for the Nittany Lions and registered a four-save shutout. The veteran and team captain secured her 27th individual shutout and managed her 54th collegiate victory in the process, placing Asman third and fourth, respectively, at PSU all-time in both categories. For Santa Clara, redshirt senior goalkeeper Marlee Nicolos was saddled with the loss after going full-time with three saves and two goals allowed.
Penn State wasted no time asserting itself in the match, finding its way onto the scoreboard in just 3:06 of elapsed match time. An incredibly direct attack for the Nittany Lions began 25 yards inside their own defensive half, with Linnehan collecting the ball on the right side of the pitch after an errant Bronco pass attempt. Linnehan fed the ball centrally toward Borgen, who found herself in a wide-open clearing between multiple Santa Clara defenders. The sophomore charged ahead and passed to MacBean, who was familiarizing herself with the Bronco back line when opportunity struck. The Minnesotan utilized a sneaky touch to move the ball to her right and elude an SCU defender, ultimately unleashing a merciless right-booted blast right past Nicolos to give the Nittany Lions an early 1-0 advantage.
With the run of play significantly favoring Penn State in the early going, the offense adjusted from an all-out attack to a more opportunistic one, with both teams settling into the action through the first 15 minutes of play. Opportunity called once again in the 21st minute, and Linnehan answered with an insurance goal on the counterattack to ice the 2-0 score. The play began in the neutral third, with junior defender Mieke Schiemann winning the ball for PSU. With no one around, MacBean assumed possession and quickly volleyed a pass forward to a blazing Linnehan, who outpaced her Bronco defender and went with a marvelous right-footed finish to leave Nicolos in the dust.
Both squads maintained their composure the rest of the way and returned to their respective locker rooms with Penn State leading by a two-goal margin. Santa Clara returned to the pitch desperate to even the score, and their early opportunities offensively applied significant pressure to the Penn State defense. The Broncos tallied the first four shots of the second half, but only one was accurate enough to be corralled by Asman. Despite multiple Santa Clara corner kick opportunities, as well as a relatively late free kick chance from 25 yards out, the Nittany Lions managed to remain steadfast and keep the Broncos off the scoreboard while carving their own path to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
SCORING SUMMARY
4' – Linnehan collected the ball on the right side of the pitch after an errant Bronco pass and fed the ball centrally toward Borgen, who charged ahead and passed to MacBean. The clutch striker utilized a sneaky touch to move the ball to her right and elude an SCU defender, ultimately unleashing a right-booted blast right past Nicolos. PSU 1, SCU 0
21' – Schiemann won the ball for PSU in the neutral third. MacBean assumed possession and quickly volleyed a pass forward to Linnehan, who outpaced her Bronco defender and went with a marvelous right-footed finish for the score. PSU 2, SCU 0
UP NEXT
Second-seeded and fifth-ranked Penn State continues its journey through the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship with its seventh consecutive third-round appearance on Sunday, Nov. 19. The Nittany Lions will square off against the sixth-seeded and 21st-ranked Saint Louis Billikens following their 2-1 upset win over Georgetown on Friday afternoon. Kickoff from Jeffrey Field between the Nittany Lions and Billikens is slated for 1 p.m. (ET), with streaming available via ESPN+.
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.
