Nittany Lions Conclude B1G Road Trip at Rutgers Saturday

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Penn State women's soccer concludes its three-match Big Ten Conference road trip this Saturday, October 4, as the Nittany Lions travel to New Jersey to face off against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a 4 p.m. (ET) kick from Yurcak Field. The match will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices.

KICKIN’ IT

The Nittany Lions are fresh off their second win on the conference calendar, as well as the team's eighth multi-goal performance in 12 opportunities following a thrilling 2-1 road result over the Northwestern Wildcats last Sunday, September 28. Penn State called on a pair of tallies from senior forward Amelia White and redshirt junior midfielder Molly Martin to generate the result that snapped a two-match skid in B1G competitions for the Blue & White. Martin, a native of Acton, Massachusetts, notched just her second collegiate goal as well as her first match-winning tally as a Penn Stater with her header in the 53rd minute. Between the pipes, redshirt junior keeper Mackenzie Gress was nearly immaculate over the full 90 minutes, with the Lyndhurst, New Jersey, native picking up her sixth individual win of the season. Gress set a season high in the save category with a quintet of rejections, with one additional team save going in the book for the Nittany Lions later in the second half. Her lone goal allowed was off a penalty kick, the first PSU concession from the spot this season.

As a team, the Nittany Lions are in the midst of one of their most dominant offensive seasons to date, with PSU leading the Big Ten and ranking 11th nationally in total assists (31) while racking up the second-most total points in the league with 83 to place 21st nationally. The Nittany Lion scoring offense averages 2.17 goals per fixture, good enough for the second-highest mark in the B1G. Individually, redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason continues to serve as one of the most dangerous facilitators in women's college soccer, leading the Big Ten and ranking second nationally with nine total assists, trailing the nation's-best tally of 10 set by Samantha Erbach of Xavier. In terms of total goals, sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa (eight) and graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean (six) rank second and third, respectively, in the Big Ten behind league scoring leader Kennedy Bell (nine) of Michigan State.

KAITLYN MACMAGICAL

Graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean has returned to premier form for the Nittany Lions since the start of the Big Ten slate, registering five goals over the last five conference matches. MacBean currently ranks as the No. 3 student-athlete in Division I in terms of career goals scored among active players with 35, while ranking seventh in DI in total points with 80. Over her graduate season in the Blue & White to date, MacBean has worked into the No. 2 spot on the roster in total scoring (13) and goals (six) behind Kulpa, with the veteran tied with Michigan State's Kennedy Bell for the most goals in Big Ten matches this year with five. The Excelsior, Minnesota, native ranks third in the B1G in total goals (six), fourth in the conference in goals per match (0.50) and fifth in the league in total points (13). In the preseason, MacBean was tabbed as a member of the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and was named both a United Soccer Coaches Forward to Watch and TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI Team member. Last year, she became the 22nd woman in Penn State program history to be named a United Soccer Coaches All-American. She also extended PSU’s streak of 31 consecutive seasons with at least one First Team All-Big Ten Conference selection, becoming Penn State's 82nd First Team choice all-time.