Penn State Hosts Army in NCAA Tournament Opening Round from Jeffrey Field

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State kicks off its 31st consecutive NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship appearance this Saturday, November 15, as the eighth-seeded Nittany Lions play host to the Patriot League champion Army Black Knights in an opening round matchup from Jeffrey Field. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. (ET) with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

FAN INFORMATION, PARKING & TICKETS

With the continuation of construction projects benefitting all 800+ student-athletes at Penn State, notably the construction of the Jeffrey Field Soccer Complex at the south end of the facility, elements of the Jeffrey Field match day experience have changed. Due to construction, the area behind the south goal will not be accessible to spectators. Spectator entrances are located on either end of Jeffrey Field near the corner flags on the south side of the facility. For more spectator information, as well as a diagram of the facility, click here.

Tickets for the opening round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship from Jeffrey Field will be available for purchase on the day of the event only from ticket booths at either entrance to the facility. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth aged 12 or under, students of both institutions with valid university ID, or groups of 20 or more. The first 50 students from either institution in attendance will be granted free admission. Penn State fans are encouraged to Wear White for the opening round matchup against Army, as the team prepares to celebrate its second White Out match of the 2025 season.

Spectator parking is located in the Stadium West lot, with entrance to the lot located at the intersection of Park Avenue and Stadium West Drive. ADA accessibility is still available on either side of the facility. Spectators wishing to access the University Drive seating area should park in the Stadium West lot closest to the Bryce Jordan Center and walk down the sidewalk to the main entrance on the University Drive side of the facility. To prepay for parking at a discounted rate, click here. Event day parking will be $10 at the main entrance to the lot.

KICKIN’ IT

The Nittany Lions extended their historic run of postseason appearances following the announcement of the field of 64 by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee on Monday night. PSU continues to boast the second-longest active postseason streak in the sport with 31-straight bids, trailing North Carolina's 44 consecutive appearances since the first year of NCAA sponsorship in 1982. The Blue & White have been a force to be reckoned with on the offensive side of the pitch all season long, with the Nittany Lions generating the second-highest scoring offense in the Big Ten Conference in 2025. Penn State averages 1.84 goals per match, trailing only the Michigan State Spartans in average scoring with their 2.29 mark in the category. Individually, sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa paces the team with 22 points while Kaitlyn MacBean leads the team with nine goals scored. Riley Gleason paces the program with nine assists to her credit in 2025, while Mackenzie Gress handles the goalkeeping duties with a team-leading 53 saves.

Penn State saw a quintet of student-athletes land All-Big Ten Conference honors in addition to placing one player as a B1G Sportsmanship Honoree. Kaitlyn MacBean earned First Team All-B1G laurels for the second year in a row, while Amelia White was named a Second Team All-B1G choice. PSU saw Bella Ayscue, Riley Gleason and Aubrey Kulpa appear on the All-B1G Third Team, while Julia Raich earned Penn State's nomination as the B1G Sportsmanship Award winner. The Nittany Lions also welcomed a seven-member signing class into the fold on National Signing Day, announcing the corps publicly on November 13. PSU's class was ranked third nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.com and stands atop the Big Ten Conference. PSU's 2025 class features a trio of top-20 ranked recruits nationally, with five incoming athletes garnering four-star ratings from TopDrawerSoccer. PSU returns to action this weekend following a 14-day break from competition, with the Nittany Lions last taking the pitch in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament against then-No. 20 UCLA on November 1. The Blue & White took a 1-0 lead into halftime thanks to an early tally from MacBean, but the Bruins were able to battle back to take a 2-1 victory to advance to the conference semifinals.

THE STREAK

The Penn State women’s soccer program secured an at-large selection in the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championships on November 10, marking the 31st consecutive selection for the Nittany Lions since their inaugural appearance in 1995. Penn State has reached the NCAA Tournament in all but one year since its promotion to varsity status in the 1994 season. 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 trails only North Carolina for the longest active NCAA Tournament appearance streak, with that program appearing in all 44 national postseason events since the sport's inaugural year sponsored by the NCAA in 1982. Penn State is one of just seven programs nationally to have appeared in at least 31 tournaments while being one of just two to appear in each of the last 31 consecutive. PSU  joins North Carolina (44), Virginia (37), Santa Clara (34), Stanford (34), UConn (32) and Notre Dame (31) in the 31-plus club.

HOME ON THE RANGE

The Nittany Lions earned the right to host an NCAA Tournament first round match for the 14th time in the last 15 tournaments, with the lone exception coming during the COVID-adjusted 2021 spring season that was played solely at neutral venues. The Blue & White have been historically dominant on their home pitch, going 47-7-1 on Jeffrey Field for an .864 winning percentage in the national postseason. Penn State's most recent home NCAA Tournament match came on November 16 of last year, when the Nittany Lions rattled off the highest-scoring match against a Division I opponent in the Erica Dambach era. PSU rolled to a dominant 8-1 win over the Stony Brook Seawolves utilizing six different goal scorers.