No. 22 Penn State Set for B1G Quarterfinal Against No. 9 UCLA
Nittany Lions set for first-ever Big Ten postseason meeting against Bruins
B1G Tournament Quarterfinal | #22 Penn State vs. #9 UCLA
12-5-3 | 5-4-2 B1G
13-3-3 | 8-1-2 B1G
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Tenth-seeded and 22nd-ranked Penn State women's soccer continues its run through the 2024 Big Ten Tournament this Monday, November 4, as the Nittany Lions square off against the second-seeded and ninth-ranked UCLA Bruins in quarterfinal action from Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The match is set to stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ on connected devices.
Follow the Action
Fans interested in attending the quarterfinals of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament are invited to click here to purchase tickets. Click the link here to access the Big Ten Conference’s Tournament Central webpage. For fans of the Nittany Lions unable to attend Monday’s contest against UCLA in the Twin Cities, the match will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app. Matt Privratsky and Phoenix Ferrari will call the action live from the Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium press box. Live stats provided by the Big Ten Conference, University of Minnesota and SIDEARM are available here.
KICKIN’ IT
After a grueling opening 88 minutes, senior defender Mieke Schiemann stood watch over a free kick opportunity deep in the final third, banging home an eye-popping match-winning goal that propelled the 22nd-ranked and 10th-seeded Penn State women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over the tournament host and seventh-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers Friday evening in the opening round of the 2024 B1G Tournament. Minnesota picked up the edge in total shots by an 18-12 margin, but the Blue & White battled back for an even second-half shot chart, eight to eight. The Golden Gophers also registered an 8-5 victory in terms of shots on goal, but both programs played to an even 7-7 draw in the corner kick competition.
Schiemann, recently crowned as a Second Team All-Big Ten selection by the league office earlier Friday afternoon, lived up to the billing in the thrilling Penn State victory on the road. The veteran center back was called on to provide her sixth career match-winning goal in the waning moments of the second half as well as her single-season career-high third match clincher of 2024. Schiemann stands on 32 career points comprised of 12 career goals in addition to eight assists. The Berlin, Germany, native played all 90 minutes in a contest for the 14th time this season, going full-time in 14 of her 19 appearances in the 2024 campaign.
PSU landed a quartet of Big Ten postseason accolades in the league office’s annual release, highlighted by PSU’s 31st-consecutive season with a First Team All-B1G choice. Redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean made history for PSU, landing First Team All-Big Ten accolades following a banner year as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the nation. MacBean was joined by a pair of Second Team All-Big Ten choices in senior midfielder Jordan Fusco and senior defender Mieke Schiemann, as well as Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree and graduate midfielder Devon Olive.
GETTIN’ THE PARTY STARTED
A pair of Big Ten Conference newcomers headline the newly expanded 10-team Big Ten Tournament field, with Los Angeles-based USC and UCLA earning the top two seeds in the 2024 tournament. The Trojans hosted UCLA at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday, October 27, with USC picking up the outright Big Ten title following a 1-0 victory over the Bruins in Carson. Action began with a pair of weather-delayed first round matches on Friday, November 1, with eighth-seeded Ohio State dropping ninth-seeded Wisconsin by a 1-0 tally in the waning moments of the opener. Tenth-seeded PSU found the back of the net in the final two minutes of action against seventh-seeded tournament hosts Minnesota, advancing to the quarters for the 29th time in program history. In Saturday's quarterfinal tests, fifth-seeded Rutgers netted a late match winner to down fourth seeded Michigan State, while sixth-seeded Washington booked a scoreless tie with third-seeded Iowa and advanced to St. Louis with a 5-4 win in the penalty shootout.
Next Up: #9 UCLA
UNDERSTANDING UCLA
Under the direction of third-year head coach Margueritte Aozasa, the UCLA Bruins head into their first-ever B1G Tournament match boasting the No. 2 seed courtesy of a 13-3-3 overall record paired with an 8-1-2 mark in Big Ten Conference contests this season. UCLA narrowly missed out on the outright Big Ten championship, suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of LA-rival USC in the season finale. The Bruins own one of the strongest defensive units in the nation heading into their inaugural B1G postseason, turning in the Big Ten's best goals-against average and the second-best GAA in Division I women's soccer with a 0.368 mark in the statistic. On an individual basis, the Bruins boast one of the most balanced scoring threats in the nation with 12 different student-athletes finding the back of the net. Bridgette Marin-Valencia is tied for the team lead in goals with four and leads the team in overall scoring with 10 points, while goalkeeper Ryan Campbell is 13-3-3 with a 0.837 save percentage and 13 shutouts.
STORY OF THE SERIES
Penn State and UCLA prepare for the eighth meeting in an all-time series that dates to the 2002 campaign, with Monday afternoon's match marking the second time this postseason that PSU has squared off against one of its regular season opponents from earlier in the 2024 campaign. Following a scoreless draw in Los Angeles earlier this year, the all-time series stands tied at 3-3-1. The last fixture between PSU and UCLA came less than three weeks ago in Southern California, with redshirt sophomore Mackenzie Gress booking pivotal six-save shutout aided by a goal line clearance from freshman defender Bella Ayscue in the final 30 seconds of play that preserved the split decision.
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.