UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women’s soccer program secured an at-large selection in the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championships on Monday evening, the 31st consecutive selection for the Nittany Lions since their inaugural appearance in the program’s second varsity campaign back in 1995. The Blue & White extended the second-longest national postseason streak in women’s college soccer following Monday evening’s release from the tournament’s selection committee.
Penn State was selected as the No. 8 seed in the Charlottesville regional, the 19th seeded selection in program history. Penn State (9-7-3) welcomes the Patriot League Champion Army Black Knights (14-5-2) to Jeffrey Field on Saturday, November 15, at 5 p.m. (ET). Ticketing information will be released as it becomes available. PSU will host its 14th opening-round match in the past 15 seasons, with the only exception coming during the COVID-maligned 2020-21 campaign that was played solely at neutral venues.
The Nittany Lions are led by head coach Erica Dambach in her 19th season at the helm in Happy Valley, leading her team to the NCAA Tournament in every year of her tenure since her inaugural season in 2007. Dambach and her staff are responsible for a pair of appearances in the NCAA Women’s College Cup, as well as the program’s lone national championship victory in the 2015 campaign. On the pitch, the Blue & White are anchored by First Team All-Big Ten Conference selection Kaitlyn MacBean, who led all B1G student-athletes in goals during the conference’s regular season with seven, in addition to an eighth tally against B1G competition in the opening round of the conference tournament against UCLA.
PSU also boasts a Second Team All-Big Ten Conference selection in senior forward Amelia White, who found the back of the net for a pair of match-winning goals during the conference campaign. Penn State saw a trio of student-athletes garner Third Team All-Big Ten Conference laurels, with sophomore defender Bella Ayscue, sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa and redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason securing those accolades. Gleason, a native of Mission Viejo, California, led the Big Ten Conference in total assists over the course of the regular season, notching nine helpers on the year.
Penn State was one of nine representatives from the Big Ten Conference and joins Michigan State (No. 2 – Stanford), UCLA (No. 4 – Stanford), Washington (No. 4 – Charlottesville), Wisconsin (No. 4 – South Bend), Iowa (No. 5 – Nashville), Northwestern (No. 9 – Stanford), Ohio State (No. 9 – South Bend) and Illinois (No. 10 – Nashville). The Big Ten joined two other power conferences in the ACC and SEC with nine bids apiece to finish tied for the national lead, with the Big 12 rounding out the power four leagues with eight selections overall. The American Athletic, Big East and Western Athletic Conferences were the only other conferences with multiple bids, landing two apiece.
In total, Penn State played 10 different NCAA Tournament teams over the course of the 2025 season, logging four victories against those opponents in that timespan. Defending national champion North Carolina garnered a No. 9 seed, while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish earned the national No. 1 overall seed. Stanford, Virginia and Vanderbilt rounded out the remaining top seeds in their respective regions. Each of the four No. 1 seeds will have the opportunity to host in every round pending advancement until the Women's College Cup, which will be played at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current, beginning on December 5 and concluding on December 8.
NCAA WOMEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS
FIRST ROUND
JEFFREY FIELD – UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Army (14-5-2) at No. 8 Penn State (9-7-3) | 5 p.m. (ET)
PENN STATE AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
TEAM APPEARANCES…………..31
ALL-TIME TEAM RECORD……..66-28-3
BEST FINISH…………………………NATIONAL CHAMPIONS (2015)
HIGHEST SEED……………………..No. 1 (2005, 2007, 2012, 2015)
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.