KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Penn State women’s soccer sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa was selected to the MAC Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List on Tuesday afternoon, the Missouri Athletic Club and United Soccer Coaches announced.
Hailing from Cromwell, Connecticut, Kulpa has instantly impressed through the midway point of the 2025 women’s soccer season, leading the Blue & White in a multitude of statistical categories while anchoring one of the nation’s premier scoring offenses. Kulpa has registered 21 points for the Blue & White this season with a team-best eight goals in addition to five assists, which rank second on the team. Kulpa ranks second in the conference in total goals and total scoring, while ranking 22nd in the nation with her 21 points. Kulpa is one of the most accurate attackers in the nation in addition to racking up her eye-popping scoring numbers, logging a shot-on-goal percentage of .556 which ranks second in the Big Ten behind Illinois’ Sarah Foley.
Kulpa is off to an impressive start to her collegiate career overall, appearing in 36 matches to date while making 14 starts, including all 13 matches thus far in 2025. Kulpa has racked up 38 total points as a collegiate athlete split between 15 goals and eight assists. The second-year sensation has totaled 1,533 minutes in the field and is also responsible for a pair of match-winning goals in her career, with both of those coming this season. Her .576 career shot-on-goal percentage is paired with an impressive .227 shot percentage overall, netting 15 goals on just 66 career shots.
Kulpa was tabbed as one of 15 forwards across all of women’s college soccer to earn a spot on the watch list, joining some of the best strikers from across the country. Across the 35-member list, Kulpa was one of just four student-athletes representing the Big Ten Conference, joining a trio of defenders in Michigan State’s Kennedy Bell, Ohio State’s Ava Bramblett and UCLA’s Jennie Immethun. Kulpa is also the only representative hailing from the state of Connecticut and the greater New England region as a whole.
The Hermann Trophy is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club and is the nation’s highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by voting of Division I head coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches. It is named in honor of the late Robert Hermann, the legendary St. Louis-native businessman and soccer executive who founded the National Professional Soccer League, the first pro soccer league in the United States which became the North American Soccer League. He was inducted in the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.
The 2025 midseason watch list was compiled by members of the Hermann Trophy Committee. A total of 15 players will be named 2025 Hermann Trophy semifinalists on December 2 at the conclusion of NCAA Division I All-American voting. From that list, head coaches will cast votes, and three players will be named finalists. The 2025 recipient will be announced January 9, 2026, in a ceremony at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis.
With Kulpa anchoring the front of the Nittany Lion eleven, Penn State has amassed a 7-4-2 overall record paired with a 3-2-1 start to Big Ten Conference action just past the midway point of the season. The Nittany Lions are slated to return to the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field this Thursday, October 9, with the Blu e& White set to welcome the Washington Huskies to Happy Valley in a 7 p.m. (ET) kick. On Sunday, October 12, PSU continues its Pacific Northwest theme by hosting the Oregon Ducks in a 1 p.m. (ET) fixture, with both matches set to stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
ABOUT THE MISSOURI ATHLETIC CLUB
Located in St. Louis, Missouri, the Missouri Athletic Club has been presenting college soccer’s player of the year awards since 1986. The MAC was established in 1903 as an athletic, dining and social club. It has “Platinum Club of America” status, which is awarded to the top private clubs in the country. To learn more about the Missouri Athletic Club, go to mac-stl.org.
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. For more information go to UnitedSoccerCoaches.org.
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.