UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Powered by a brace from sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa and a pair of additional tallies from graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean and redshirt senior midfielder Julia Raich, the 14th-ranked Penn State women’s soccer team recorded an impressive 4-1 win over the 23rd-ranked Saint Louis Billikens Thursday night from Jeffrey Field.
Following Thursday night’s action from Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions booked their first victory of the 2025 campaign in addition to the team’s first nationally ranked win since downing then-No. 7 TCU in the NCAA Tournament on November 22 of last year. PSU improved to 1-1-0 overall through its first two matches of the season, avenging a narrow defeat to current national No. 1 Duke on the road a week ago. In defeat, SLU drops to 1-1-0, suffering the team’s first defeat of the year after logging a 4-0 win over Kansas City in last week’s opening-night matchup. In the all-time series between the two sides, Penn State picked up its third straight win in as many seasons against SLU, with the Blue & White outscoring the Billikens by a 10-5 margin in that span.
The final stat sheet suggested a tighter contest than the final scoreline would suggest, with Penn State narrowly winning the margin on the shot chart by a 14-12 differential. In terms of on-target opportunities, the Blue & White outpaced the Billikens by a 10-8 margin and won the battle for saves by a slim 7-6 tally. Penn State surrendered the corner kick battle for the second consecutive outing, yielding a 6-1 victory in the statistic to Saint Louis. In the official’s book, both squads picked up a yellow card, with SLU being cautioned in the 30th minute while Penn State picked up its booking in the 88th. The squads combined for 15 fouls, with SLU being whistled for nine while PSU picked up six.
Individually, the Cromwell, Connecticut, native Kulpa secured her second and third goals of the 2025 season in just her second appearance of the campaign, pairing her brace against the Billikens with the first PSU tally of the season against Duke a week ago. Kulpa is up to double-digits in her career in terms of goals scored, logging 10 since first setting foot on the pitch last season. Additionally, graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean found the back of the net for the first time in her final collegiate season, scoring the first Penn State goal on Jeffrey Field this year in the first half of the contest. Redshirt senior midfielder Julia Raich closed out the goal scoring for PSU on Thursday, adding her name to the scoresheet for the first time this year. In the assist column, Penn State picked up a trio of helpers with senior forward Amelia White, freshman defender Hannah Jordan and redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason earning credit.
Between the pipes on Thursday night, both programs utilized a pair of keepers en route to the final result. For Penn State, redshirt junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress logged her second start of the 2025 campaign and delivered the winning decision over 70 minutes of action, turning back a quartet of Billiken shots as saves while allowing a single SLU score. Over the remainder of the contest, redshirt senior Amanda Poorbaugh logged her first appearance of the year and swatted away three saves with zero scores allowed in the final 20 minutes. For Saint Louis, Emma Parker booked the start and went 75 minutes, allowing all four goals while logging a quintet of saves. Over the final 15 minutes, Nimu Karani logged a single save with zero scores allowed.
Both teams spent the early moments on Thursday night feeling each other out, with neither team managing an extremely dangerous chance until the action passed the 15-minute mark. In the 17th, a strong run in possession down the right edge of the pitch by Jordan paved the way for the first Nittany Lion scoring opportunity of the night. Jordan’s command of the Nittany Lion attack crossed midfield, where she delivered the ball forward to White toward the nearside corner. White took possession and outran her defender, allowing her time and space to deliver a dangerous cross into the box toward a pair of PSU runners in the 18. Raich was able to serve as a decoy, allowing MacBean to finish the first goal on Jeffrey Field in 2025 unmarked off the back post. Her right-footed finish found the back of the net to give Penn State an early advantage.
Less than 20 minutes later, Gleason attempted to switch fields around the center circle, but her service took a deflection forward off a Billiken defender. In opportune position to take command of the possession, Kulpa started a run with the ball around 30 yards out from the goal mouth, ultimately working through a multitude of SLU defenders to find the edge of the 18. The second-year star utilized her left boot to beat the Billiken keeper and double Penn State’s advantage. Penn State was able to buckle down defensively and maintain the clean sheet through the opening 45, leading by a 2-0 advantage heading into the break.
After the brief intermission, both squads returned looking to add to the scoresheet, but Saint Louis was ultimately able to inch closer to the Nittany Lion lead in the 53rd minute. Working down the left edge of the field, Saint Louis saw Caroline Chier take control of the ball and deliver an ideal pass into the box, where Audrey Smith managed to work into a favorable matchup near the far post. A pinpoint right-footed shot barely snuck past Gress into the bottom right corner of the goal. Less than 10 minutes later, Penn State was able to further extent their lead and stymie the SLU momentum, as the Nittany Lions and Billikens battled in the box for multiple headers before the ball ultimately settled just outside the 18 on the foot of Gleason. The veteran midfielder lifted a high-arching service into the box once again, where the ball found Kulpa’s head for her second tally of the night into the center of the net.
The Blue & White were not done yet, as PSU’s attack wasted little time tacking on another score. Raich attempted to deliver a pass inside the box to a teammate just ahead. Raich’s pass careened off a Billiken defender and ultimately ended up right back on her right foot, ultimately decided to take it upon herself to find the back of the net with a dominant right-footed banger around 17 yards out. Anchored by an elite relief performance between the pipes from Poorbaugh, Penn State was able to close the book on the scoring and come away with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Billikens on Thursday in Happy Valley.
SCORING SUMMARY
17’ – A strong run in possession down the right edge of the pitch by Jordan paved the way for the first Nittany Lion scoring opportunity of the night. Jordan’s command of the Nittany Lion attack crossed midfield, where she delivered the ball forward to White toward the nearside corner. White took possession and outran her defender, allowing her time and space to deliver a dangerous cross into the box toward a pair of PSU runners in the 18. Raich was able to serve as a decoy, allowing MacBean to finish the first goal on Jeffrey Field in 2025 unmarked on the back post. Her right-footed finish found the back of the net to give Penn State an early advantage. PSU 1, SLU 0
34’ – Gleason attempted to switch fields around the center circle, but her service took a deflection forward off a Billiken defender. In opportune position to take command of the possession, Kulpa started a run with the ball around 30 yards out from the goal mouth, ultimately working through a multitude of SLU defenders to find the edge of the 18. The second-year star utilized her left boot to beat the Billiken keeper and double Penn State’s advantage. PSU 2, SLU 0
53’ – Working down the left edge of the field, Saint Louis saw Chier take control of the ball and deliver an ideal pass into the box, where Smith managed to work into a favorable matchup near the far post. A pinpoint right-footed shot barely snuck past Gress into the bottom right corner of the goal. PSU 2, SLU 1
61’ – The Nittany Lions and Billikens battled in the box for multiple headers before the ball ultimately settled just outside the 18 on the foot of Gleason. The veteran midfielder lifted a high-arching service into the box once again, where the ball found Kulpa’s head for her second tally of the night into the center of the net. PSU 3, SLU 1
64’ – PSU’s attack wasted little time tacking on another score, as Raich attempted to deliver a pass inside the box to a teammate just ahead. Raich’s pass careened off a Billiken defender and ultimately ended up right back on her right foot, ultimately decided to take it upon herself to find the back of the net with a dominant right-footed banger around 17 yards out. PSU 4, SLU 1
UP NEXT
No. 14 Penn State women's soccer remains at home in Happy Valley and returns to non-conference competition this Sunday, August 24, as the Nittany Lions welcome the West Virginia Mountaineers to Jeffrey Field in a 3 p.m. (ET) affair. The fixture between the Blue & White and WVU will air live to a national television audience via Big Ten Network and the FOX Sports App on connected devices. The match will also serve as Penn State’s annual March to the Match, with Nittany Lion students invited to join the Park Avenue Army in the East Quad at 2:15 p.m. (ET) to take part in the march.
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.
The 2025 Penn State women's soccer season is presented by Highmark.