UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 12 Penn State women’s soccer dismantled the Michigan Wolverines by a 6-0 tally Thursday night on Jeffrey Field, with the Nittany Lions calling on six different goal scorers to close the book on the team’s most complete performance of the 2024 season while simultaneously booking the largest win over Michigan in school history.
The Nittany Lions booked one of their most complete team efforts in recent memory, with six different student-athletes finding the back of the net in addition to six different Penn Staters combining for seven total assists. PSU’s scoring total amounted to 19 points, marking the highest team scoring output in Happy Valley since the Blue & White dropped 22 points on Central Connecticut State in a 7-0 victory in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Penn State matched the program’s record for goals scored against Michigan, tying a 6-2 victory over the Wolverines from October 7, 2001. The Nittany Lions clocked the largest margin of victory for PSU over Michigan all-time while simultaneously scoring the most goals against a Big Ten Conference opponent since a 6-0 Nittany Lion win over Maryland on April 3, 2021.
With Thursday night’s dominant victory, the Nittany Lions improve to 6-1-1 overall and 1-0-0 in the Big Ten Conference, marking the first instance of consecutive B1G-opening victories at PSU since the 2017 and 2018 teams opened league play with a win. Penn State currently maintains a six-match unbeaten streak and returned to the win column following a scoreless draw against then-No. 23 Georgetown last weekend. In defeat, Michigan falls to 1-6-1 overall and moves to 0-1-0 in the B1G.
In the all-time series between the Nittany Lions and Wolverines, PSU improved to 27-7-8 overall and extended its unbeaten streak against Michigan to three consecutive matches following a 3-0 win in 2022 and a 1-1 draw in Ann Arbor a season ago. Additionally, Penn State saw continued success in B1G-opening matchups, rising to 23-5-3 through the program’s first 31 Big Ten regular season opening tests. In Big Ten home openers, the Blue & White climb to rise to an astronomical 28-2-1 mark when playing its first conference opponent on Jeffrey Field.
Penn State was dominant in every statistical category in Thursday night’s league opener, with the Blue & White outpacing Michigan in total shot attempts by a 27-18 margin in addition to a striking 16-4 differential in shots on goal. PSU committed seven fouls against Michigan’s five, also outpacing the Wolverines in corner kick attempts by a narrow 5-4 margin. Penn State climbed to 4-1-1 when outshooting its challengers while rising to 4-0-1 when winning the corner kick competition. In the referee’s final scorebook, Michigan secured the only booking of the night with a yellow for unsporting behavior in the 73rd minute.
Graduate midfielder Devon Olive started the scoring for the Blue & White early in the first half, finding the back of the net for the second time in her collegiate career in her first start of her final collegiate season. Olive finished with a goal on her only shot and shot on goal in a season-high 66 minutes of effort. Graduate defender Mieke Schiemann and redshirt junior midfielder Julia Raich each booked their first goals of the 2024 campaign, while senior forward Jordan Fusco and graduate forward Elle Kershner each booked their second goals of the year, respectively. Redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean resumed her offensive dominance on Thursday night, booking her ninth goal of the season with an other-worldly run and finish in the second half.
In the passing game, freshman midfielder Katie Scott returned from injury and made an immediate impact off the bench, logging a pair of assists in her first collegiate appearance. Scott, a native of Fairview, Pennsylvania, booked the second multiple-assist effort of the 2024 season, joining Fusco’s showing against West Virginia on August 29. Redshirt sophomore defender Kayleigh Herr tallied her first point as a Nittany Lion with an assist in the second half, while sophomore defender Keegan Schmeiser and freshman defender Bella Ayscue each logged their first collegiate points with assists in addition to Scott’s two-dish showing. Freshman forward Aubrey Kulpa and junior forward Amelia White both added their second assists of the year, respectively.
In goal for the Nittany Lions, redshirt junior Amanda Poorbaugh impressed in her third consecutive shutout win, the most successful streak of her collegiate soccer career. The Westerville, Ohio, native utilized a heroic effort early in the second half to preserve the clean sheet with a kick save, finishing the night with four saves in total over the course of her 90-minute performance. For Michigan, graduate goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski yielded six scores over 90 minutes, adding an impressive 10 saves while being saddled for the loss.
Neither squad managed any significant danger in the first 10 minutes of play, but the Nittany Lions were able to capitalize on a well-executed offensive set in the 13th. A sweeping service from the far side of the pitch from Wilson cascaded into the box and deflected out off a Wolverine head. Olive wasted no time just outside the penalty arc, firing off a one-time right-footed blast that soared into the back right corner of the Wolverine goal. Penn State continued to battle on both ends of the pitch, defending an early 1-0 lead through the early going.
By the 30th minute, Penn State managed to capitalize on the momentum and surge ahead by a 2-0 tally. Scott made the first dangerous run of her promising Nittany Lion career into the box on the right edge of the 18, firing off a right-footed shot toward the top left corner of the Michigan net that Sparkowski batted in front of her. Fusco accepted the ball from Sparkowski, took one touch to her left, and utilized a left-footed smash into the back right corner to make it a two-goal lead for PSU. Four minutes later, Schmeiser gained possession of the ball centrally around 45 yards outside the Wolverine net, playing the ball forward to her left for Ayscue. The rookie defender accepted Schmeiser’s pass and delivered a left-footed chip into the box where Raich was waiting centrally in front of the Michigan goal. A perfectly timed leap saw the ball careen off Raich’s head into the lower left corner of the net. The Blue & White took an impressive 3-0 lead into halftime of their first B1G match of 2024.
Out of the break, Michigan attempted to harness a halftime pep talk and convert for their first goal of the match. Facing off against a dangerous Wolverine attack, Poorbaugh stared down Michigan midfielder Abby Zugay and utilized a kick save on the Michigan attacker to preserve the PSU shutout. Penn State replied in the 57th, as Herr dribbled down the left side of the pitch toward the Michigan bench and kicked the ball forward to White near the touchline. White utilized a sweeping right-footed service to play the ball forward to MacBean, who assumed possession with a Michigan defender on her back shoulder. MacBean juked right, which saw her Wolverine defender spin around to chase, followed by a left leaning sidestep that took her defender entirely out of the equation. One-on-one with the Michigan keeper, MacBean used her left foot to bury her ninth goal of the campaign into the lower left corner of the net.
Little occurred until the 70th minute, when Penn State tallied yet another score in a dominant B1G opening-night effort. Scott went on yet another dangerous run into the Michigan final third, weaving through multiple lines of defense before passing the ball right to fellow-freshman Kulpa. The rookie attacker moved rapidly into the right edge of the box and served the ball across the net behind Michigan’s entire backline to Kershner, who used a slow-rolling left-footed effort to make it a five-score match. Less than two minutes later, Penn State switched fields on Michigan, with the ball working its way across the pitch from left to right, where Scott played the ball forward to Raich just inside the 18. Raich dribbled once before being taken down by a Michigan defender on the right edge of the box, winning a penalty that Schiemann buried into the back left corner, ultimately closing the book on a statement 6-0 victory.
SCORING SUMMARY
13’ – A sweeping service from the far side of the pitch from Wilson cascaded into the box and deflected out off a Wolverine head. Olive wasted no time just outside the penalty arc, firing off a one-time right-footed blast that soared into the back right corner of the Wolverine goal. PSU 1, MICH 0
30’ – Scott made the first dangerous run of a promising Nittany Lion career into the box on the right edge of the 18, firing off a right footed shot toward the top left corner of the Michigan net that Sparkowski batted in front of her. Fusco accepted the ball from Sparkowski, took one touch to her left, and utilized a left-footed smash into the back right corner to make it a two-goal affair for PSU. PSU 2, MICH 0
34’ – Schmeiser gained possession of the ball centrally around 45 yards outside the Wolverine net, playing the ball forward to her left for Ayscue. The rookie defender accepted Schmeiser’s pass and delivered a left-footed chip into the box where Raich was waiting centrally in front of the Michigan goal. A perfectly timed leap saw the ball careen off her head into the lower left corner of the net, with Schmeiser and Ayscue earning assists on the successful connection. PSU 3, MICH 0
57’ – Herr dribbled down the left side of the pitch toward the Michigan bench and kicked the ball forward to White near the touchline. White utilized a sweeping right-footed service to play the ball forward to MacBean, who assumed possession with a Michigan defender on her back shoulder. MacBean juked right, which saw her Wolverine defender spin around to chase, followed by a left-leaning sidestep that took her defender entirely out of the equation. One-on-one with the Michigan keeper, MacBean used her left foot to bury her ninth goal of the campaign into the lower left corner of the net. PSU 4, MICH 0
70’ – Scott went on yet another dangerous run into the Michigan final third, weaving through multiple lines of defense before passing the ball right to fellow-freshman Kulpa. The rookie attacker moved rapidly into the right edge of the box and served the ball across the net behind Michigan’s entire backline to Kershner, who used a slow-rolling left-footed effort to make it a five-score match. PSU 5, MICH 0
72’ – Penn State switched field on Michigan, with the ball working its way across the pitch from left to right, where Scott played the ball forward to Raich just inside the 18. Raich dribbled once before being taken down by a Michigan defender on the right edge of the box, winning a penalty that Schiemann buried into the back left corner. PSU 6, MICH 0
UP NEXT
No. 12 Penn State women's soccer returns for its second match in a four-match homestand this Sunday, September 15, as the Nittany Lions host the Columbia Lions in a 1 p.m. (ET) fixture from Jeffrey Field. The match will serve as Senior Day presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, with the match and post-match Senior ceremony set to stream live via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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