WASHINGTON – No. 8 Penn State women’s soccer closed out its grueling three-match road trip against opponents that were either ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll on Sunday, with the Blue & White battling to a hard-fought scoreless draw against No. 23 Georgetown from Shaw Field.
The Nittany Lions extended their unbeaten streak to five consecutive matches following Sunday’s showdown in the nation’s capital, with Penn State climbing to 5-1-1 overall through the 2024 campaign’s first seven matches. Georgetown responded following its loss to nationally ranked Pepperdine last Thursday by playing toe-to-toe with PSU, as the Hoyas move to 3-1-2 overall on the young season. In the all-time series between the two programs, the squads remain deadlocked and move to 0-0-2 against one another following the second all-time meeting Sunday.
PSU last suffered a defeat on Thursday, August 22, against the nation’s current No. 4 team in Virginia, with the Blue & White since improving to 3-1-1 overall on the year against opponents that were either ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Nittany Lions’ current three-match unbeaten streak against ranked foes featured a trio of contests on the road, the longest stretch of nationally ranked true road matches at PSU since the 2021 team battled No. 13 West Virginia, No. 18 UCF and No. 3 Virginia in consecutive contests on the road from September 2 through 9 of that year.
One of the marquee matches of the weekend lived up to the billing in the final box score, with both squads playing remarkably even in multiple statistical categories. Penn State narrowly edged out the Hoyas in total shot attempts by a 13-12 tally, but Georgetown booked a slim 3-2 win on the shot chart in terms of on-target opportunities. The Nittany Lions capitalized on solid offensive pressure to win eight corner kick opportunities against just five for the Hoyas, with PSU remaining unbeaten when taking the corner kick competition in the 2024 season at 3-0-1. In the official’s final book, Georgetown was saddled with a pair of yellow cards while the Nittany Lions picked up a single caution in the match.
Ten different Nittany Lions found their way onto the box score in the shot column, highlighted by a three-shot effort from redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean. Junior forward Amelia White recorded the only other multi-shot outing of the day for the Nittany Lions with a pair of attempts, while graduate midfielder Olivia Damico and graduate forward Rebecca Cooke mustered the only two shots on frame for PSU on the day. Three different Penn State fielders finished with 90 minutes of playing time in the weekend matinee, with junior midfielder Molly Martin joining senior defender Mieke Schiemann and graduate defender Ginger Fontenot with that distinction.
Between the pipes for the Nittany Lions, redshirt junior goalkeeper Amanda Poorbaugh booked her second consecutive shutout and her third solo clean sheet of the 2024 season. The Westerville, Ohio, native booked consecutive individual shutouts for the first time in her collegiate career, contributing a trio of saves to the penultimate non-conference matchup of the year. Georgetown utilized a two-keeper tandem to book a clean sheet of their own on Sunday, with Cara Martin playing the opening 45 minutes and recording a pair of saves including a pivotal stop on a Nittany Lion penalty kick, while Anna Karpenko played the entirety of the second half to keep PSU off the board.
The opening quarter hour passed without significant incident, as both teams attempted to make runs into the attacking third on both sides of the pitch to no avail. Through the first 25 minutes of the contest, neither team managed to secure a shot on target, with the Nittany Lions battling for a narrow 4-3 margin on the shot chart through the early going. In the 29th minute of play, the Blue & White mustered an impressive scoring chance on the right side of the pitch, but a Hoya defender shoved MacBean to the ground inside the 18 just before the Excelsior, Minnesota, native had an opportunity to attempt a shot. After an elongated video review, a penalty kick was awarded, but Martin stopped the Nittany Lions’ attempt toward the bottom right corner of the goal.
The Nittany Lions seized the momentum from there, booking their only additional shot on goal of the match later in the 41st minute following a stellar run and attempt from Cooke. With both teams returning to the changing room knotted up at nil, each squad looked to establish an attack that could warrant an icebreaker out of the intermission. Penn State’s offense was able to get off a quartet of shots in the second 45-minute frame, but ultimately neither squad was able to overcome a litany of elite defensive performances. The Nittany Lions and Hoyas ultimately settled on a scoreless draw, with PSU closing out its ultra-competitive three-match road trip unbeaten before the start of Big Ten Conference competition next week.
UP NEXT
No. 8 Penn State women’s soccer returns to Happy Valley and will kick off its 31st season as a member of the Big Ten Conference on Thursday, September 12, as the Nittany Lions welcome the Michigan Wolverines to Jeffrey Field for both squad’s B1G opener. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET), with the match slated to stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+.
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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.