No. 8 Penn State Welcomes Maryland in B1G-Opening Match
Nittany Lions kick off 32nd Big Ten Conference season with nationally televised test against Terrapins
Maryland at #8 Penn State
4-3-0 | 0-0-0 B1G
4-2-1 | 0-0-0 B1G
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 8 Penn State women's soccer prepares to kick off its 32nd season of competition in the Big Ten Conference and opens a three-match homestand with a 6 p.m. (ET) kickoff against the Maryland Terrapins on Thursday, September 11 from Jeffrey Field. The match will air live to a national television audience via the Big Ten Network and FOX Sports App.
FAN INFORMATION, PARKING & PROMOTIONS
With the start of construction projects benefitting all 800+ student-athletes at Penn State, notably the construction of the Jeffrey Field Soccer Complex at the south end of the facility, elements of the Jeffrey Field match day experience have changed. Due to construction, the grass area behind the south goal will not be accessible to spectators. Spectator entrances are located on either end of Jeffrey Field near the corner flags on the south side of the facility. For more spectator information, as well as a diagram of the facility, click here.
Spectator parking is located in the Stadium West lot, with entrance to the lot located at the intersection of Park Avenue and Stadium West Drive. ADA accessibility is still available on either side of the facility. Spectators wishing to access the University Drive seating area should park in the Stadium West lot closest to the Bryce Jordan Center and walk down the sidewalk to the main entrance on the University Drive side of the facility. To prepay for parking at a discounted rate, click here. Event day parking will be $10 at the main entrance to the lot.
In remembrance of the 24th anniversary of the tragedies that occurred on September 11, 2001, the Penn State women’s soccer program will honor first responders in attendance with special recognitions throughout the Big Ten Conference opener against the Terrapins, as PSU hosts its Heroes Appreciation match.
Follow the Action
For fans unable to attend Penn State’s Big Ten Conference opening matchup against Maryland in person, the contest air live to a national television audience via the Big Ten Network and FOX Sports App on connected devices. Kylen Mills and Jackie Manny will call the action live from BTN studios in Chicago. The link to tune into Penn State’s battle with the Terrapins from Jeffrey Field is available here. Live stats, provided by the Pennsylvania State University and StatBroadcast, are available at the link here. For more information on the Jeffrey Field match day experience, click the Jeffrey Field women’s soccer fan info guide link here.
KICKIN’ IT
The Blue & White concluded their non-conference slate on Sunday, September 7, turning in a 3-0 road victory over the Liberty Flames in Lynchburg. PSU called on tallies from redshirt senior midfielder Julia Raich, sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa and redshirt freshman defender Lilly Burger in the win, with a multi-assist outing from redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason highlighting PSU's performance. Following Penn State’s second shutout victory of the 2025 campaign, the Blue & White improve to 4-2-1 overall through their seven non-conference fixtures, with their only two blemishes coming on the road against opponents nationally ranked inside the top 10. PSU secured a non-conference winning percentage of 0.643, finishing the non-league portion of its schedule above .500 for the 15th year in a row, a streak which dates to the 2011 season.
Individually, Penn State has continued to witness the breakout efforts from Kulpa over the course of the 2025 non-conference slate, with the second-year star averaging just under a goal per match with six tallies thus far to lead the Big Ten Conference in scoring. In the assist column, Gleason has emerged as both the team and conference statistical leader in the category, supplying five helpers through the first seven opportunities on PSU's slate. PSU's strong start to the 2025 season has largely been anchored by opportunistic attacking, as the Nittany Lions rank prominently in both the Big Ten Conference and Division I in terms of scoring, ranking third in the league in total goals (15), total assists (15) and total points (45) while ranking inside the top 50 nationally in all three categories. Penn State secured all four of its wins in multi-goal fashion, with the narrowest margin of victory for PSU standing at two goals against West Virginia and Santa Clara.
B1G THINGS COMING
Penn State enters its 32nd season as a participating women's soccer Big Ten Conference member institution this week with Thursday's test against Maryland. The Nittany Lions are the most dominant program in B1G history by every statistical measure, hauling in a league-best nine B1G Tournament titles in addition to 20 B1G regular season crowns, more than all other schools combined. The Blue & White are 23-5-3 overall through their first 31 B1G regular season openers, in addition to boasting a 28-2-1 record on Jeffrey Field in the team's first Big Ten home match of the year. Penn State enters Thursday night's contest boasting a three-match unbeaten streak in conference-opening matchups, as well as a two-match B1G-opening win streak following victories over Maryland and Michigan, respectively, in 2023 and 2024. The Blue & White look to extend their league-opening win streak to three straight for the first time since winning four in a row in a span from 2012 through 2015.
Next Up: Maryland
TESTING THE TERRAPINS
Led by head coach Michael Marchiano in his second season at the helm of the Terrapin women's soccer program, Maryland enters Thursday night's nationally televised conference opener boasting a 4-3-0 overall record. Marchiano took over in College Park the day before PSU took Maryland on in conference play a year ago, assuming an interim title on October 10 before earning the full-time nod at the conclusion of the regular season. The Terrapins got out to a strong 3-0-0 start to the 2025 season with a pair of multi-goal victories over Lehigh and Saint Francis but have since stalled out with a 1-3-0 stretch since, most recently dropping a narrow 1-0 road decision to common PSU opponent James Madison on September 4. On an individual basis, Kelsey Smith has been a strong contributor for Maryland thus far, leading the team in scoring with eight points on three goals and a pair of assists, leading the squad in all three categories. Between the posts, Faith Luckey has been strong, playing 625 minutes while logging a .781 save percentage and a trio of individual shutouts.
STORY OF THE SERIES
In an all-time series dating to the 1996 campaign, the Penn State women's soccer program maintains a dominant 17-4-0 record against the Maryland Terrapins heading into the 22nd all-time meeting of the two teams this week in University Park. PSU will play host to the Terrapins on Jeffrey Field for the first time since 2023, a 4-0 victory on B1G opening night, September 15 of that year. The Nittany Lions have never lost to Maryland in women's soccer since the institution migrated to the Big Ten Conference ahead of the 2014 season, boasting an untouched 10-0-0 overall record in meetings as conference foes. The Blue & White are a perfect 11-0-0 in the last 11 meetings, with the Nittany Lions remaining unbeaten against UMD since the last Maryland win on November 14, 2004, in the NCAA Tournament. Since the Terrapins joined the B1G, Penn State has outscored Maryland by a 29-1 differential. Last year's meeting on the road in College Park saw the Nittany Lions pick up a decisive 5-0 win with five different scorers contributing to the result. The win marked PSU's second-largest margin of victory in a B1G match in 2024.
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.