KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Penn State women's soccer saw a pair of student-athletes land United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America accolades following the organization's release on Friday afternoon. Senior+ midfielder Cori Dyke took home First Team laurels, while senior+ defender Kate Wiesner earned an appearance on the Second Team.
Dyke, a native of Littleton, Colorado, makes her first career appearance on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America team after a remarkable fifth season in Happy Valley. The veteran holding midfielder transitioned to a role as a center back for the Blue & White in 2023, still mustering five goals and six assists for 16 total points, booking single-season career highs in all three statistical categories. A team captain and valuable contributor to Penn State's success over the past five years, Dyke owns the Nittany Lion career records for matches played and started with 108 in addition to the program record for minutes played by a fielder with 9,054. Dyke earned her undergraduate degree from PSU earlier this year and recorded a 3.96 cumulative grade point average in kinesiology.
Penn State saw a student-athlete appear on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America First Team for the first time since her former teammate, Ally Schlegel, took those accolades home last year. Dyke earned the 18th First Team appearance in Nittany Lion program history, joining program legends such as Christie Welsh, Emily Oleksiuk, Raquel Rodriguez and Kaleigh Riehl on that list. Dyke becomes the 26th United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American at Penn State all-time since Oleksiuk first earned those honors in 2001. Dyke adds to her already-impressive list of postseason academic accolades, with Friday's announcement joining distinction as an Academic All-Big Ten performer as well as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District nominee.
A native of Monrovia, California, Wiesner appeared on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America list for the first time in her collegiate career. One of the most dominant outside backs in recent Penn State memory, Wiesner appeared in 21 matches over the course of her final season in Happy Valley while making 20 starts. Her two goals and five assists on the season amounted to nine total points, making her one of the highest-scoring student-athletes on the roster. Her efforts on the defensive side of the pitch were instrumental in leading PSU to the best scoring defense in the Big Ten Conference over the 2023 campaign. In the classroom, Wiesner booked a 3.91 cumulative grade point average over her five seasons in University Park and earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from PSU in the spring of 2024.
Wiesner becomes the sixth woman in program history to earn Second Team Scholar All-America status from the United Soccer Coaches, joining Aubrey Aden-Buie, Zoe Bouchelle, Rodriguez, Sam Coffey and Kerry Abello as former Nittany Lion honorees. Abello was the most recent recipient of Second Team honors at PSU, bringing that distinction home after the 2021 season. Wiesner secured the 27th Scholar All-America honor in program history and paired that award with prior recognitions this fall as an Academic All-Big Ten and CSC Academic All-District performer.
Penn State was one of just three Big Ten Conference member institutions to land at least one player on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Teams and was the only B1G program to earn multiple selections. Iowa's Samantha Cary and Indiana's Paige Webber were the only other Big Ten student-athletes to appear, landing Second and Third Team honors, respectively. Penn State joined nine other women's soccer programs from across the country in earning two or more Scholar All-America spots. The Blue & White were one of just three Power Five conference programs to accomplish that feat, joining Pittsburgh and South Carolina.
Student-athletes on this year's Scholar All-America Teams will be formally acknowledged for their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
ABOUT UNITED SOCCER COACHES
Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, United Soccer Coaches is the trusted and unifying voice, advocate and partner for coaches at all levels of the game. The largest community for soccer coaches in the world, the organization unites coaches of all levels around the love of the game while elevating the game through advocacy, education and service. To learn more about United Soccer Coaches, visit UnitedSoccerCoaches.org.
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.
