Return of the Shield

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – There’s a lot you can say about a program with the pedigree of Nittany Lion women’s soccer. A National Championship. Nine Big Ten Tournament Titles. Twenty Big Ten Regular Season Titles.

Just last weekend, three women’s soccer alumnae brought home Olympic Medals, including two representing the United States with spots in the starting lineup. Greatness is cultivated here. The corner of University and Park is a proving ground, not just for the upper echelon of collegiate soccer players, but for the athletes who will represent their homeland on the world stage.

With the thrill of the 2024 Paris Olympics in the rearview mirror, all attention turns back to our happy hamlet in Central Pennsylvania. Season 31, starting up in what feels like a matter of moments. The 2024 Penn State women’s soccer season opens with a nationally televised matchup featuring two top 10 teams, No. 4 PSU and No. 8 Texas Tech, with the eyes of the nation trained on Jeffrey Field for opening night. It’s a remarkably similar feeling to the start of the 2023 season just 361 days ago. Top 10 matchup, national TV, Jeffrey Field, etc, etc. Last year’s season-opening draw with No. 2 North Carolina kicked off a season with a 16-match unbeaten streak, top four finish in the conference standings, and the program’s deepest NCAA Tournament run since 2018.

Tonight, the lights come on once again. The stage will be set for one of the most significant matchups of the non-conference season. We’ll be back. Nittany Lion head coach Erica Dambach enters her 18th season with the Blue & White in 2024, poised to build upon a stellar season last year that featured PSU’s 14th appearance in the National Quarterfinals. With a legendary résumé already in her back pocket, Dambach returns to work invigorated and encouraged by the look of Penn State’s 33-woman roster ahead of the new year.

“We’re a couple weeks in at this point, and after watching the group, I’ve been really pleased with the work that all of them put in this summer,” Dambach expressed. “A lot of them chose to come back in early June, and I think it shows. They are all really well played in to form. This is a veteran group. We have a lot of seniors, and they are guiding the ship right now. They have taken charge, they are seasoned, they understand the way that we want to play and most importantly, they have put their arm around the young players and have started to guide them as well. So, I think this is a group that has the ability to really go places this year. They have shown a willingness to put the work in, and they’re just really enjoyable to work with.”

The close bonds formed by members of the team over the summer will be pivotal to Penn State’s success in 2024, as the Nittany Lions saw a litany of elite talent head out the door in what proved to be a historic NWSL Draft night. Five different Penn Staters heard their names called in Anaheim, a program record. Replacing that kind of production is rarely easy, but with an elite culture in place and an experienced staff leading the way, the Blue & White feel poised to impress with a reloaded squad.

“Five draft picks and a Spanish league pro as well,” Dambach remarked. “A lot of these players that are emerging are filling these roles effectively because they have quite a bit of experience. Players that have gone on to the league certainly held down those starting positions over the last couple of years, but these are players who have come off the bench and have made big plays for us. They’ve played in big matches. Players like Kaitlyn MacBean, who has proven herself to be a goal scorer; we have Olivia Borgen, who is one of the best attacking midfielders in the country as far as I’m concerned. And then, if you look across our group with the transfers we’ve brought in: Jordan Fusco, Ginger Fontenot and Kayleigh Herr are all going to be a huge help for us this year. They have been a huge infusion of talent into our program, and I am confident that they will make an immediate impact. One other name that really emerged in the offseason was Molly Martin. She invested more of her time and more of herself into her game, and it shows, so we’re thrilled with where she is at this point. We’re also seeing the best of Amelia White in a Penn State uniform right now. She has come in absolutely on fire, and we’re thrilled with her starting point heading into this season.”

Multiple familiar faces line the halls in Happy Valley, with many of those individuals set to embark on breakout seasons in a Penn State uniform. Opportunities for team and individual success abound, but Dambach knows how valuable it is to have leadership on the roster that’s capable of guiding the team towards their goals.

“Overall, we have amazing returning leadership from last season highlighted by our four team captains, Olivia Damico, Devon Olive, Rowan Lapi and Mieke Schiemann,” Dambach said. “Rowan is performing at a high level, as is Mieke, who has been a real cornerstone of our backline since she got to campus as a freshman. Rebecca Cooke has stepped up in a significant way, and she’s looking more and more dangerous as the offseason continues. Finally, I’m very excited for Mackenzie Gress, who is one of the best goalkeepers in the country. I am confident that she is going to effectively step into Kat Asman’s shoes and leave us in very capable hands.”

Talent is one thing. Execution is another. Overall, the most significant contributing factor to Penn State’s success in 2023 was a calm, cool, collected and process-oriented mindset. That mindset was cultivated over the course of one of the most grueling schedules in women’s soccer a year ago. Playing in big match after big match influences athletes and staff members alike; if you feel like you’ve been there before, then the next big moment doesn’t feel as big. Dambach discussed the lessons learned through playing a tough slate of opponents, and foreshadowed how the 2024 schedule might be one of PSU’s toughest yet.

“We are notorious for taking on the toughest schedule in the country, and that is a philosophical reason why so many players want to come and play for Penn State,” Dambach said. “You come here to play against the best and be the best. So, a couple lessons that we learned; the highs can’t be too high, and the lows can’t be too low when you’re competing against those kinds of opponents. It’s a grind, and if they can work through that grind, they’ll know how to do hard things. I think their mentality has been refined over the last couple of years, understanding that when you play against the best teams in the country, you can’t take a play off. You can’t take a moment off; you have to stay focused on burying one into the back of the net. There’s a strong belief that we can score goals, and that we can be an exciting team that can play exciting soccer that brings fans into Jeffrey Field and helps to create the best soccer atmosphere in the country.”

Those fans are used to success. In addition to the aforementioned array of accolades mentioned at the top of this piece, one additional element to recall is that Penn State has participated in five Women’s College Cups. Reaching the pinnacle of the sport, the proverbial “Final Four,” is no easy feat. The growth of the women’s game across the country has made the path up the mountain ever so treacherous. PSU was within one goal of climbing that mountain once again last year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Clemson, South Carolina, leaving Dambach confident that the goal is still well within the program’s reach.

“I feel strongly that you need to have been there in order to get there,” Dambach stated. “One of the things that I saw with our group down in Clemson last year was their belief that this group is a College Cup team. This group is a national contender. I feel really good about the experience that they got last season. In many respects, we were a goalpost away from advancing against a very good Clemson team. I think our team this year, in terms of their mentality going into the season: there’s a really strong belief that this team can and will have an opportunity to return to the Women’s College Cup.”

Belief is the first step. Kickoff is the second.

Penn State women’s soccer kicks off its 31st varsity campaign TONIGHT, Thursday, August 15 at 7 p.m. (ET), with the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions battling the eighth-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. The match will air to a national television audience via the Big Ten Network with streaming available via the FOX Sports App. Click here to read the full Nittany Lion women’s soccer match preview for Thursday’s test.

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.