ROSEMONT, Ill. – For the 21st year in a row, the Penn State women's soccer program was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference regular season championship following a preseason poll of the league's coaches, the B1G announced Tuesday afternoon.
Northwestern took the No. 2 spot behind the Nittany Lions, with Rutgers and Michigan State rounding out the top four slots. Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan were selected as preseason favorites to round out the eight-team Big Ten Tournament field. In addition to the preseason coaches poll, a trio of Penn State student-athletes garnered status as Big Ten Players to Watch, including senior+ midfielders Cori Dyke and Kate Wiesner in addition to forward Payton Linnehan.
"It's an honor for our program to be recognized as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten," Dambach said. "I have the utmost respect for all the coaches and student-athletes in this league, and I truly think that this conference is the strongest top-to-bottom across all of college soccer. Our players have been hard at work getting ready for the upcoming season, and I know that they will channel this recognition from our league's coaches to push themselves even harder to ultimately meet our objectives for the year."
A team captain and native of Littleton, Colorado, Dyke enters her fifth year on the Penn State roster following her most productive collegiate season in 2022. The Littleton, Colorado, native started all 23 matches for the Blue & White a season ago, amassing 1,937 minutes of action on the field. Dyke finished the season with four goals and an assist to accumulate nine total points in 2022. She garnered Academic All-Big Ten and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition in addition to landing an appearance on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
Linnehan enters her fifth year with the Blue & White and stands as the program's lead returning goal scorer from 2022. Linnehan participated in 19 matches a season ago, making 14 starts while amassing six goals scored and eight assists. The Douglas, Massachusetts, native set a career high for points scored in a single season with 20 and matched her single-season career high in assists with her eight dishes last year.
One of Dyke's fellow midfielders and team captains, Wiesner enters her final season of collegiate eligibility coming off a 2022 campaign that featured a Big Ten-best 11 assists. Wiesner also tied with former teammate and current NWSL rising star Penelope Hocking for the league's lead in assists per match with 0.48 dishes on average. The Monrovia, California, native started in 22 matches and appeared in 23 overall last year, adding two goals for a total of 15 points over the course of the 2022 campaign.
Penn State published a 15-5-3 record last season and coupled that with a 5-3-2 mark against Big Ten Conference opposition. The Nittany Lions boasted four United Soccer Coaches top-25 victories a year ago, highlighted by wins over then-No. 12 Northwestern and No. 6 Michigan State en route to PSU's ninth Big Ten Tournament Championship. PSU advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth season in a row, defeating Quinnipiac and West Virginia by a combined 8-1 tally before dropping a 3-2 decision to Virginia in the Sweet 16.
The most decorated program in Big Ten Conference women's soccer history, Penn State gears up for its 30th varsity season in 2023. The Blue & White own 20 Big Ten regular season titles all-time, more than twice the amount of the rest of the league combined. Penn State's 229-43-18 record against B1G opposition all-time stands as a conference record, while the Nittany Lions' nine Big Ten Tournament titles and 39 B1G Tournament match victories also stand as league records.
B1G WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1 | PENN STATE
2 | Northwestern
3 | Rutgers
4 | Michigan State
5 | Wisconsin
6 | Nebraska
7 | Ohio State
8 | Michigan
9 | Minnesota
10 | Iowa
11 | Maryland
12 | Purdue
T13 | Illinois
T13 | Indiana
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.
