KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following one of the most impactful offensive seasons in recent memory in Happy Valley, Penn State women’s soccer redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean was named a United Soccer Coaches Fourth Team All-American in the organization’s release Friday evening.
A native of Excelsior, Minnesota, MacBean lived up to the billing as one of the most prominent strikers in the women’s college game. Her 16 goals and six match-winning scores in the 2024 season were pivotal to Penn State’s second consecutive trip to the National Quarterfinals last weekend. MacBean has amassed one of the most statistically significant seasons in recent memory for the Blue & White, becoming the highest-scoring student-athlete in a single season in over a decade with 34 points. The last Nittany Lion to amass more than 34 points in a single season was PSU legend Maya Hayes, who turned in a 70-point campaign in 2013.
MacBean’s 2024 season was loaded with a wide array of milestones and highlight-reel moments that helped cement the highest scoring season by an individual student-athlete at PSU in over a decade. MacBean registered goals in eight consecutive matches beginning in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament against Santa Clara and concluding with PSU’s fifth match of 2024 against Saint Louis on the road. MacBean’s eight-match scoring streak was the third-longest in Nittany Lion history, with her run trailing a 17-match and 13-match streak from PSU legend Tiffany Weimer. MacBean additionally added a five-match NCAA Tournament scoring streak, with the Nittany Lion striker finding the back of the net in every Penn State NCAA Tournament match beginning with the 2023 second round win over Santa Clara to the team's 2024 second round victory over TCU.
After battling through a pair of season-ending injuries to open her time in Happy Valley, MacBean has become a triumphant story of resilience while leading the Nittany Lions to the Sweet 16 in every year of her tenure in addition to a pair of consecutive National Quarterfinal appearances. The Minnesota native appeared in 67 career matches with the Blue & White, making 45 starts while playing 3,831 minutes over her historic tenure at PSU. Her 67 career points are split between 29 collegiate goals and nine assists, making her one of the most effective and impactful forwards in the nation over her three years of routine action.
Penn State’s star striker became the first United Soccer Coaches Fourth Team All-American in Penn State's illustrious history. Overall, MacBean becomes the 22nd woman in Penn State history to land any type of United Soccer Coaches All-America status while simultaneously bringing in the 41st All-America honor at PSU since the first Nittany Lion honoree in 1998 First Team honoree Kelly Convey. MacBean’s appointment to the United Soccer Coaches All-America list also ensures that PSU has had at least one student-athlete garner All-America laurels in every year since 2018, a seven-year run of All-America accolades most recently added to by last year’s Second Team selection in Cori Dyke.
MacBean was one of just nine Big Ten Conference student-athletes to land any form of All-America recognition from United Soccer Coaches and just the second to appear on the fourth team in 2024. MacBean joins UCLA’s Lilly Reale and Ryan Campbell, USC’s Brooklyn Courtnall, Helena Sampaio and Maile Hayes, Ohio State’s Kailyn Dudukovich, Minnesota’s Khyah Harper and Michigan State’s Justina Gaynor as the league’s representatives at the sport’s highest level, with Campbell joining MacBean on the Fourth Team.
This year’s All-Americans will be recognized for their accomplishments at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Chicago, Ill., in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
ABOUT UNITED SOCCER COACHES
Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, United Soccer Coaches is the trusted and unifying voice, advocate and partner for coaches at all levels of the game. The largest community for soccer coaches in the world, the organization unites coaches of all levels around the love of the game while elevating the game through advocacy, education and service. To learn more about United Soccer Coaches, visit UnitedSoccerCoaches.org.
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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.