UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women’s soccer battled in a physical affair on Thursday night and managed to outshoot their opponents from the Pacific Northwest, but the Nittany Lions were unable to overcome a penalty kick conversion as the Washington Huskies came away with the 1-0 result on Jeffrey Field.
The Blue & White were relatively strong in the run of play all evening long, turning in a decisive 12-7 differential on the final shot chart while commanding an astounding 68 percent of the possession. Penn State mustered its 10th match on the 2025 season where they managed to outshoot their challengers, moving to 5-3-2 overall when doing so this season. In on-target attempts, Washington booked four chances against three for the Nittany Lions, with the Blue & White managing a 3-2 lead in saves thanks to a Husky team save on the first on-target attempt of the night from PSU. The Nittany Lions also ran away with the victory in the corner kick competition, logging an 8-2 margin in that statistic to mark their fifth win in that category on the 2025 season.
Penn State utilized a diversified attack on Thursday to attempt to generate an equalizing tally, with nine different student-athletes attempting at least one shot attempt. Three Nittany Lions recorded a pair of shot attempts each, with sophomore defender Bella Ayscue, sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa and senior midfielder Olivia Borgen notching those chances. The trio of Nittany Lion shots on goal also came on the feet of Ayscue, Kulpa and Borgen, but all three chances were stopped by the Huskies between their goalkeeper and back line.
The Nittany Lions held their opponents from Seattle without a score in the run of play, marking the fourth match this season with that distinction. The Blue & White called on three field position players to play the entirety of the match, with Ayscue joining redshirt junior defender Kayleigh Herr and redshirt freshman defender Lilly Burger to go the full match. Between the pipes, redshirt junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress was strong over the full 90 minutes, rejecting a trio of Washington shots on goal while allowing a single score via penalty kick. For Washington, Tanner Ijams played the full match and finished with a clean sheet, notching a pair of saves with no goals allowed.
In the opening moments of Thursday’s contest, Penn State looked strong and managed to record the first shot attempt of the match off the boot of Kulpa. Commotion in the box saw the ball take a friendly bounce and land on the second-year striker’s foot, but her opportunistic right-footed attempt was miraculously stopped by a Washington defender on the goal line. Despite logging an early 2-1 edge in shot attempts and a 2-1 lead in corner kick chances, the Huskies were able to tally the only goal of the match via a penalty in the 18th. With the Huskies attacking centrally, Branson worked her way into the Nittany Lion box and drew contact from a Penn Stater, with the initial signal from the center referee indicating a penalty kick. After a VAR check confirmed the PK, Holdenried was able to convert on the chance into the bottom right corner of the PSU net.
The Huskies were able to maintain their early advantage for the remainder of the opening stanza and were ultimately able to protect the score until the halftime intermission. Trailing 1-0 out of the break, the Nittany Lions welcomed the return of freshman defender Hannah Jordan to the back line following a two-match hiatus with injury. The Blue & White battled with a strong sense of urgency over the course of the second half of play, outshooting Washington by a 7-4 margin in the final 45 while out-cornering the Huskies by a 5-1 edge, but the visitors were able to park the bus and come away with a tough 1-0 decision on the road in Happy Valley.
Following Thursday night’s action in University Park, the Nittany Lions drop to 7-5-2 overall and fall back even in Big Ten Conference matches with a 3-3-1 league ledger. Penn State dropped a narrow decision in the fifth all-time meeting, falling to 1-4-0 overall in the set against Washington while moving to .500 against the Huskies on Jeffrey Field following the second all-time fixture in Happy Valley. With the win in hand, Washington remains unbeaten and atop the Big Ten table with a 5-0-2 record in league play coupled with an impressive 8-1-5 mark overall. Washington continues its trip east on Sunday, with a noon (ET) scheduled on the road at Ohio State.
SCORING SUMMARY
18’ – With the Huskies attacking centrally, Branson worked her way into the Nittany Lion box and drew contact from a Penn Stater, with the initial signal from the center referee indicating a penalty kick. After a VAR check confirmed the PK, Holdenried was able to convert on the chance into the bottom right corner of the PSU net. WASH 1, PSU 0
UP NEXT
Penn State women's soccer returns home to the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field for a two-match homestand next weekend, as the Blue & White welcome a pair of B1G challengers from the Pacific Northwest. Next week's action kicks off on Thursday, October 9, with a 7 p.m. (ET) start against the Washington Huskies on B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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.