UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In one of the most dramatic contests of the 2023 season, fifth-ranked and second-seeded Penn State overcame a late deficit against 21st-ranked and sixth-seeded Saint Louis to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, logging a 4-3 overtime win over the Billikens to advance on Jeffrey Field Sunday afternoon. The Blue & White continue their run through the national tournament on the road at top-seeded Clemson next weekend.
Penn State's historic run of results in the NCAA Tournament added an instant classic to the repertoire on Sunday afternoon, with the Blue & White moving to 63-26-3 overall in the championship all-time. The Nittany Lions picked up a win in the tournament's third round for the first time since the 2018 season when PSU defeated Wake Forest in Morgantown, West Virginia by a 1-0 tally to reach the quarters. Penn State will make its 14th appearance in the national quarterfinals all-time, improving to 12-6-1 following its 19th trip to the round of 16. Penn State and Nebraska stand as the only two teams remaining representing the Big Ten Conference, guaranteeing the league one-quarter of the Elite Eight field.
The result propelled Penn State to a 16-2-4 overall record through its 22nd match of the year, the most wins by a Nittany Lion squad in a single season since the 2019 team published a 17-7-1 mark and a third-round NCAA Tournament appearance. Additionally, the Nittany Lions booked a win in the program's first all-time meeting with Saint Louis while rising to 18-0 against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. PSU also managed to book its second postseason win over an A-10 opponent all-time, joining a 2-0 win in the 1996 NCAA Tournament over George Mason. In defeat, the Billikens move to 19-3-2 overall after booking their first all-time third-round appearance in addition to an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Championship.
PSU published a dominant differential in multiple statistical categories, highlighted by an astonishing 24-13 margin on the shot chart overall, the fifth-most total shot attempts by a Nittany Lion squad this year. The Blue & White were also much more aggressive in placing shots on goal, doubling the Billikens up by an 8-4 tally. In the corner kick competition, the Nittany Lions booked three attempts against a lone try from Saint Louis. The Billikens were extremely aggressive in their defensive challenges, booking the most fouls by a Nittany Lion opponent in the 2023 season with 18 calls against. PSU also set a season-high in fouls with 13. Each team saw field position players pick up a yellow card in the match, with SLU's Caroline Kelly and PSU's Ellie Wheeler cautioned Sunday afternoon.
Individually, redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean found the back of the net twice to secure her second collegiate brace, joining her performance against Ohio State from Oct. 8 of this year. MacBean also added an assist to her final stat line, booking PSU's third individual performance this season with five points or more and first five-plus point performance since senior+ forward Payton Linnehan's hat trick in the opening round against Central Connecticut State. On the subject of Linnehan, the Douglas, Massachusetts, native tallied the match-winning goal in the 98th minute of action, her third match-winner of the season and second in the past three matches. Junior defender Mieke Schiemann added a tally of her own, while senior+ defender Kate Wiesner, senior+ midfielder Cori Dyke, senior defender Ellie Wheeler, senior+ defender Michela Agresti, Schiemann and sophomore midfielder Olivia Borgen contributed assists.
Between the pipes, graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman turned in a career-high tying 110 minutes of work and recorded a save in her 16th individual win of the season. Asman remains in third place all-time at Penn State with 318 saves and ranks fourth in school history with 55 career victories. The Roswell, Georgia, native has now played 7,479 minutes between the pipes in Happy Valley, just 482 minutes shy of second place held by U.S. Women's National Team goalkeeper and Nittany Lion alum Alyssa Naeher. For Saint Louis, Emily Puricelli played 110 minutes and was saddled with the loss after booking four saves and four goals allowed.
The Blue & White opened the contest by booking one of their most dominant halves of the 2023 season in the first 45, racking up a pair of goals in the first 23 minutes of work. In the 22nd minute, Schiemann took the ball down the right side of the pitch and delivered a ball forward to Wheeler on the right wing. The Fairfax Station, Virginia, native played an immaculate ball into the center of the 18 for MacBean, who collected her thoughts and eased a right-booted ball into the lower right corner of the goal. Less than two minutes later, Agresti found herself in possession toward the center of the pitch and played the ball forward to the far-left edge of the field for Wiesner. The Monrovia, California, native delivered a slick feed to MacBean down the left side of the pitch, where she collected the ball and dribbled to the nearside edge of the goal area. Her right-footed chip shot sailed over the outstretched glove of the keeper into the top right corner to make it 2-0.
Despite the strong start by the Blue & White, Saint Louis showed incredible toughness and resilience battling back into the match toward the end of the opening frame. In the 31st minute, SLU took possession over and moved the ball forward centrally. Hannah Sawyer took over on the right side of the pitch and played forward to Katie Houck, whose right-footed service careened into the 18. Hannah Larson timed her run perfectly and headed the ball into the back right corner to bring the Billikens back within one. PSU's defense regrouped after the score and helped guide the Nittany Lions to a 2-1 lead at the break.
After the intermission, Saint Louis took advantage of a defensive lapse by the Nittany Lions and managed to equalize the match in the 65th minute of play. Emily Gaebe took over around the midfield line on the right side of the pitch and dribbled all the way into the PSU penalty area. Gaebe snuck a shifty right-footed shot into the back of the net past Asman's reach. Against the run of play, the Billikens utilized a free kick chance to surge ahead by a 3-2 margin, with Larson recording her first collegiate brace on a laser from 20 yards out into the top left corner. With less than 20 minutes remaining in the contest, the Nittany Lion season was pushed to the brink.
With the 30th varsity season in program history on the line, Penn State reversed course and recorded one of the most clutch scores since the organization began in 1994. Standing over the ball on a free kick chance with less than three minutes to play, Dyke raised her left arm and blasted a right-footed service into the box for a lightning-fast Schiemann run from the edge of the 18. The Berlin, Germany, native jumped at just the right time and sent the ball into the back right corner off her head to equalize. After forcing overtime, the Blue & White called on a virtuosic shot from Linnehan to put the match away. Borgen and MacBean connected on a pair of passes around midfield, with Borgen charging forward into the box and delivering the ball to Linnehan. The veteran PSU striker sidestepped once to her left and sent Penn State to the Elite Eight on an unbelievable left-footed attempt that found the top of the goal just under the crossbar.
SCORING SUMMARY
22' – Schiemann took the ball down the right side of the pitch and delivered a ball forward to Wheeler on the right wing. Wheeler played an immaculate ball into the center of the 18 for MacBean, who collected her thoughts and eased a right-booted ball into the lower right corner of the goal. PSU 1, SLU 0
23' – Agresti found herself in possession toward the center of the pitch and played the ball forward to the far-left edge of the field for Wiesner, who delivered a slick feed to MacBean down the left side of the pitch. MacBean collected the ball and dribbled to the nearside edge of the goal area. Her right-footed chip shot sailed over the outstretched glove of the keeper into the top right corner. PSU 2, SLU 0
31' – Sawyer took over on the right side of the pitch and played forward to Houck, whose right-footed service careened into the 18. Larson timed her run perfectly and headed the ball into the back right corner. PSU 2, SLU 1
65' – Gaebe took over around the midfield line on the right side of the pitch and dribbled all the way into the PSU penalty area, where she snuck a shifty right-footed shot into the back of the net past Asman's reach. PSU 2, SLU 2
71' – The Billikens utilized a free kick chance to surge ahead, with Larson recording her first collegiate brace on a laser from 20 yards out into the top left corner. SLU 3, PSU 2
87' – Standing over the ball on a free kick chance with less than three minutes to play, Dyke raised her left arm and blasted a right-footed service into the box for a lightning-fast Schiemann run from the edge of the 18. The Berlin, Germany, native jumped at just the right time and sent the ball into the back right corner off her head to equalize. PSU 3, SLU 3
98' – Borgen and MacBean connected on a pair of passes around midfield, with Borgen charging forward into the box and delivering the ball to Linnehan. The veteran PSU striker sidestepped once to her left and sent Penn State to the Elite Eight on an unbelievable left-footed attempt that found the top of the goal just under the crossbar. PSU 4, SLU 3
UP NEXT
Second-seeded and fifth-ranked Penn State extended its stay in the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, with the Nittany Lions set to square off against the top-seeded and seventh-ranked Clemson Tigers on the road in the National Quarterfinals. PSU's Elite Eight matchup against Clemson will begin at 1 p.m. (ET) from Riggs Field on Saturday, November 25, with streaming of the contest available to authenticated subscribers via ESPN+.
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The 30th Season of Penn State women's soccer is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
