BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Penn State women’s soccer attempted a late rally with a goal in the final three minutes of play, but the Nittany Lions were unable to overcome the Indiana Hoosiers in a 2-1 result Sunday from Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Despite the final result, Penn State played a strong offensive match from start to finish, commanding the possession battle while racking up a 12-9 differential in total shot opportunities. The teams were level in both shots on goal and corner kick attempts, with each squad notching six on-target shots and five corners apiece. Whistles were rare from the center official on Sunday, with Indiana called for seven fouls and Penn State burdened with five, but the Nittany Lions picked up the only caution of the match on a yellow card for a physical challenge at midfield in the 54th minute.
Redshirt senior midfielder Julia Raich was the only Nittany Lion on the scoresheet in Sunday’s matinee from Indiana, with the Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, native picking up her fifth goal of the season late in the second half. Raich is up to 14 points on the year split between five goals and four assists, continuing to improve upon her highest-scoring season as a collegiate athlete in 2025. Raich was one of three Penn Staters to finish with multiple shots on the day with three, while graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean and senior forward Amelia White finished with four and three, respectively. In goal, redshirt junior Mackenzie Gress logged four saves with two goals allowed in 90 minutes of action.
The Nittany Lions got out to an efficient start on the offensive end of the pitch while holding Indiana to limited opportunities on the other end. Penn State outshot IU by a 5-3 differential in the opening 45, with the Blue & White racking up four shots on goal in those chances. Penn State earned the first shot on goal of the day, but the Hoosiers were able to corral it and work the other way for the match’s first corner kick in the sixth minute of action. Neither team was able to generate a truly lethal opportunity as the opening 45 minutes wore on, with both teams ultimately returning to the locker room knotted at nil.
Out of the intermission, the two teams played a relatively controlled style with neither team able to find an edge over 10 minutes into the frame. Despite a sluggish start, Indiana managed to win a corner in the 58th and send Maggie Ledwith to the nearside for the attempt. Ledwith lifted the ball toward the back post and found the head of Bella Haggerty, who nestled the ball into the top left corner of the Nittany Lion goal. In the 67th, an Indiana attacker made a deep run into the Penn State half and sent a cross into the Nittany Lion 18, but a PSU defender was able to temporarily relieve pressure by denying the center-seeking pass. Unfortunately, the ball took an unlucky bounce off of a Nittany Lion boot and wound up on the foot of Paige Droner, who sent a hard-hit ball into the top right corner of the net to double the Hoosier advantage.
Penn State did its best over the remainder of the match to knot things up once again, and a glimmer of hope arrived for PSU in the 88th minute. Redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason smacked a powerful pass deep into the heart of the Hoosier 18 late in Sunday’s contest, with the Indiana keeper coming off her line to attempt a punchout. The Hoosier netminder could not get a clean hold of the ball, allowing Raich to clean things up on the back post with a right-footed blast with less than three minutes to play. Despite a high-intensity approach to the waning moments, Indiana was able to hold on defensively and pick up the win at home in 2-1 fashion.
In defeat, Penn State falls to 8-6-3 overall and 4-4-2 in Big Ten Conference play with one match remaining against Ohio State in one week’s time. Indiana rises to 5-5-6 overall and 2-3-5 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers will conclude their 2025 regular season at home in Bloomington next Sunday with a match against Iowa.
SCORING SUMMARY
58’ – Despite a sluggish start to the final 45, Indiana managed to win a corner and send Ledwith to the nearside for the attempt. Ledwith lifted the ball toward the back post and found the head of Haggerty, who nestled the ball into the top left corner of the Nittany Lion goal. IU 1, PSU 0
67’ – An Indiana attacker made a deep run into the Penn State half and sent a cross into the Nittany Lion 18, but a PSU defender was able to temporarily relieve pressure by denying the center-seeking pass. Unfortunately, the ball took an unlucky bounce off of a Nittany Lion boot and wound up on the foot of Droner, who sent a hard-hit ball into the top right corner of the net to double the Hoosier advantage. IU 2, PSU 0
88’ – Gleason smacked a powerful pass deep into the heart of the Hoosier 18 late in Sunday’s contest, with the Indiana keeper coming off her line to attempt a punchout. The Hoosier netminder could not get a clean hold of the ball, allowing Raich to clean things up on the back post with a right-footed blast with less than three minutes to play. IU 2, PSU 1
UP NEXT
Penn State women's soccer concludes its 32nd regular season as a varsity program and returns home to Happy Valley next Sunday, October 26, as the Nittany Lions square off against the 25th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in a 1 p.m. (ET) kickoff from Jeffrey Field. PSU's Decision Sunday match will stream live via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.
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.