LONG BEACH, Calif. – Penn State women’s soccer senior midfielder Jordan Fusco picked up national accolades following the first week of the season, appearing on the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week in the organization’s release Tuesday.
A native of Olmsted Township, Ohio, Fusco arrived in Happy Valley last spring and made an instant impact for the Nittany Lions in her Penn State debut last Thursday, August 15. Fusco was the highest-scoring individual player in PSU’s domineering 4-0 rout of then-No. 8 Texas Tech on Jeffrey Field, with the newcomer logging both a goal and an assist in the match. Fusco opened the scoring in the 2024 Nittany Lion women’s soccer season with a 17-yard left-footed banger in the seventh minute, later contributing her assist on the next goal with a powerful set-piece service in the 17th. Fusco finished with three shots on the night and a pair of shots on target, registering 65 minutes of action for the Blue & White overall.
Fusco’s efforts in the attacking midfield were pivotal to Penn State’s success in its season-opener, with the Nittany Lions opening their season with a victory for the first time since the 2021 fall campaign. Penn State’s 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.
One of the headline women’s soccer transfers in the 2024 cycle, Fusco arrived in Happy Valley following a dominant trio of seasons at the University of Tennessee. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from UT earlier this year while simultaneously establishing herself as one of the most dominant midfielders in the Southeastern Conference. During her impressive career in Knoxville, Fusco totaled 38 points split between 14 total goals in addition to 10 assists, making 61 appearances and 53 starts in three years with the Lady Vols. Fusco arrived in the nation’s premier soccer conference at one of the sport’s premier brands after landing First Team All-SEC honors a season ago.
Fusco picked up Penn State’s 67th all-time appearance on the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week, securing the first selection for the Nittany Lions since Payton Linnehan and Kaitlyn MacBean each appeared in the organization’s release on November 21, 2023. Both Penn State student-athletes were instrumental to the program’s historic NCAA Tournament run to the national quarterfinals, with both Nittany Lions earning a spot on the team after logging goals in NCAA Tournament contests against Santa Clara and Saint Louis to forge Penn State’s spot in the Elite Eight.
Penn State, which recently climbed to the No. 3 position in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll released on Tuesday, continues its start to the 2024 non-conference season with a 5:30 p.m. (ET) kickoff against the No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers this Thursday, August 22. The match will serve as Penn State’s annual March to the Match as a part of PSU Welcome Week, with incoming freshmen and their families invited to attend the match and participate in one of college soccer’s most electric atmospheres for a top 25 test. For those fans unable to attend in person, the match will stream to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers 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.