UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Utilizing four different goal scorers, as well as one of the most dominant all-around first-half efforts in recent memory, No. 4 Penn State women’s soccer dismantled the No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders in a 4-0 finish Thursday night from Jeffrey Field.
The Blue & White opened its season with a victory for the first time since the 2021 fall campaign, which kicked off with a 3-1 win over the UMass Minutemen on August 19 of that year. PSU opens the 2024 campaign 1-0, while the Red Raiders fall to 0-1 following opening night. PSU improved to 20-12-3 against current Big 12 Conference member institutions, with the Nittany Lions coming away with a win in the program’s first all-time meeting against Texas Tech.
Penn State’s success on Jeffrey Field in opening night matchups continued Thursday night, with the Nittany Lions rising to 16-1-3 overall when opening the season inside the friendly confines. Following the program’s 31st all-time home opener, PSU moved to 23-3-5 and 9-2-4 when tested against a nationally ranked foe in Jeffrey Field’s first match of the year. The Nittany Lions’ four-goal victory over Texas Tech also marked the largest margin of victory in a season opener since dismantling in-state rival Pittsburgh by a 7-2 tally in the 2002 campaign. PSU’s dominant showing over the Red Raiders marked the second-largest margin of victory in an opener all-time.
The Nittany Lions were dominant in practically every statistic, with PSU doubling the Red Raiders in shot attempts by a 16-8 margin, mustering the most shots in a match since recording 24 in the NCAA Sweet 16 win over Saint Louis on November 19, 2023. Penn State quadrupled Texas Tech’s tally in shots on goal, with the Nittany Lions logging eight against the Red Raiders’ two. PSU won seven corners against Texas Tech’s three, while the Red Raiders out-fouled Penn State by a 14-9 margin. The only caution of the evening was awarded to Penn State in the second half.
On an individual basis, senior midfielder Jordan Fusco impressed in the attacking midfield position, with the Olmsted Township, Ohio, native notching her first Nittany Lion goal and assist in the 4-0 Penn State victory. Fusco opened the scoring early with a 17-yard banger and contributed an assist on the next goal with a powerful set-piece service. Fusco finished with three shots on the night and a pair of shots on target, registering 65 minutes of action. Redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean extended her active goal-scoring streak to four consecutive matches, with the Excelsior, Minnesota, native booking at least one goal in the final three NCAA Tournament matches as well as Thursday night’s season opener.
Graduate midfielder Rowan Lapi made her presence felt on both ends of the pitch, recording a penalty kick goal on the offensive end while helping maintain Penn State’s shutout on the defensive side of the ball. Lapi, a native of Reinholds, Pennsylvania, scored her first goal as a member of her home state’s premier program, notching her 10th collegiate goal overall. Finally, freshman forward Aubrey Kulpa got her collegiate career started on the right foot with a right-footed goal at the end of the first half to ice the four-goal PSU win.
Between the posts, Penn State called on redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress for her first collegiate start, with the Lyndhurst, New Jersey, native recording a pair of saves while working for a combined shutout. Gress’ highlight-reel save preventing a penalty kick goal for the Red Raiders marked the final turning point towards PSU’s shutout result. Gress played 77 minutes between the pipes, while redshirt junior Amanda Poorbaugh worked for the remaining 13 minutes while preserving the Nittany Lion clean sheet. For Texas Tech, junior keeper Faith Nguyen played the entirety of Thursday’s match, allowing all four PSU scores while recording a quartet of saves.
Penn State was dominant in possession through the early going, with the Blue & White commanding the pace of the match while advancing further and further into Red Raider territory. The dam broke for the Nittany Lions in the seventh minute, with Fusco setting the tone on an unreal banger just inside the penalty area. After Fusco dispossessed a Red Raider in the top right corner of the pitch, the transfer Nittany Lion took a couple dribbles into the righthand corner of the penalty area. With a heavy strike from her left boot, Fusco buried a 17-yard belter into the top left corner of the net to get the scoring started for the Nittany Lions. In the 17th, PSU won a corner on the left side. Fusco lined up and delivered a pinpoint service into the goal box for a slew of waiting Nittany Lion attackers. MacBean was able to track the ball to the left edge of the six, heading the ball back into the bottom right corner of the net for PSU’s second goal.
With a two-goal lead in hand, MacBean worked her way into a tight battle with a Red Raider defender on the left edge of the penalty area in the 25th minute. Texas Tech’s athlete appeared to commit a foul that would warrant a Nittany Lion penalty kick, and after deliberation from the match officials, the penalty was ultimately awarded, with Lapi heading to the spot for PSU. Tech’s goalkeeper incorrectly guessed Lapi’s shot attempt, with the Penn Stater finding the bottom right corner of the net for goal number three.
Penn State would not return to the locker room without tacking on one more score for good measure in the 44th minute. Speedy passing from Gress out of the back kicked off one of Penn State’s best scoring chances of the night, with the ball ultimately cascading to the boot of Gleason around midfield. From there, Gleason delivered a magnificent ball centrally toward a sprinting Kulpa, who outworked a Red Raider defender and was able to create a one-on-one with the Texas Tech keeper. Kulpa wisely delivered the ball to her right just beyond the keeper’s outstretched glove, finding the right side of the net for her first collegiate tally. The Nittany Lions would return to the dressing room with a four-goal lead they would never relinquish.
In the second half, Penn State maintained possession for the majority of the period while continuing to threaten the Red Raider backline. Although Texas Tech was able to stabilize its attack towards the end of the second frame, PSU’s dominant defense and exceptional goalkeeping was able to keep the goose egg on the board. The premier moment of the evening came when Gress stood watch over the Nittany Lion net in the 72nd minute, forced to defend a Texas Tech penalty kick. Red Raider junior midfielder Peyton Parsons attempted the shot toward the top left corner of the goal, with Gress punching the shot out of harms way to finalize the shutout effort.
SCORING SUMMARY
7’ – After Fusco dispossessed a Red Raider in the top right corner of the pitch, the transfer Nittany Lion took a couple dribbles into the righthand corner of the penalty area. With a heavy strike from her left boot, Fusco buried a 17-yard banger into the top left corner of the net to get the scoring started for the Nittany Lions. PSU 1, TTU 0
17’ – With a crucial set piece in hand in form of a left-side corner kick, Fusco lined up and delivered a pinpoint service into the goal box for a slew of waiting Nittany Lion attackers. MacBean was able to track the ball to the left edge of the six, heading the ball back into the bottom right corner of the net for PSU’s second goal. PSU 2, TTU 0
25’ – MacBean worked her way into a tight battle with a Red Raider defender on the left edge of the penalty area, with Texas Tech’s athlete appearing to commit a foul that would warrant a Nittany Lion penalty kick. After deliberation from the match officials, the penalty was ultimately awarded, with Lapi heading to the spot for PSU. Tech’s goalkeeper incorrectly guessed Lapi’s shot attempt, with the Penn Stater finding the bottom right corner of the net. PSU 3, TTU 0
44’ – Speedy passing from Gress out of the back kicked off one of Penn State’s best scoring chances of the night, with the ball ultimately cascading to the boot of Gleason around midfield. From there, Gleason delivered a magnificent ball centrally toward a sprinting Kulpa, who outworked a Red Raider defender and was able to create a one-on-one with the Texas Tech keeper. Kulpa wisely delivered the ball to her right just beyond the keeper’s outstretched glove, finding the right side of the net for her first collegiate tally. PSU 4, TTU 0
UP NEXT
No. 4 Penn State women’s soccer enters a one-week hiatus from competition before returning to work next Thursday, August 22, with another marquee non-conference test. PSU celebrates its annual March to the Match, welcoming Nittany Lion students back to campus from Summer Break with a clash against Virginia beginning at 5:30 p.m. (ET). Authenticated subscribers are invited to tune in to the live stream of the match via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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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.