Nittany Lions Set for Rematch with No. 7 Virginia in NCAA Tournament Second Round
Eighth-seeded PSU travels to face top-seeded Cavaliers in Charlottesville for second time this season
Penn State at #7 Virginia
10-7-3 | 5-4-2 B1G
13-3-4 | 6-2-2 ACC
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Penn State women's soccer continues its 31st-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this Thursday, November 20, as the eighth-seeded Nittany Lions gear up for a second-round clash against the top-seeded and seventh-ranked Virginia Cavaliers. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. (ET) from Klöckner Stadium, with the match set to stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Follow the Action
For fans unable to attend Penn State’s NCAA Tournament second round match against Viginia in person, the contest will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via ESPN+ and the ESPN App on connected devices. Jake Griffith and Paddy Foss will call the action from the Klöckner Stadium press box. The link to tune into Penn State’s battle with the Cavaliers from Charlottesville is available here. Live stats, provided by the University of Virginia and the NCAA, are available at the link here. To purchase tickets for Penn State’s second round NCAA Tournament matchup against Virginia in Charlottesville, click the link here to visit UVA’s ticketing portal, EVenue.
KICKIN’ IT
Powered by a trio of goal scorers and an all-around team effort on the defensive end of the pitch, eighth-seeded Penn State rolled to a 3-0 victory over the Army Black Knights in the opening round of NCAA Tournament action from Jeffrey Field on November 15. PSU saw graduate forward Kaitlyn MacBean net the match-winning goal in the ninth minute, in addition to a tally from senior forward Amelia White and the first collegiate score for freshman midfielder Dikte Bang later in the match. For the 32nd year in a row, the Nittany Lion women’s soccer program crossed into double-digits in the win column, accomplishing that feat in every season of the team’s varsity era since its inaugural run in 1994. The Blue & White now own a 10-7-3 overall record in the 2025 season and earned a trip to the second round of the national postseason for the 17th year in a row, booking opening-round victories in every year since 2009. PSU is now 67-28-3 in the national postseason all-time and has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament or later on 28 occasions.
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 November 10. 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. 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.
FIRST ROUND FLASHBACK
Three different goal scorers helped propel eighth-seeded PSU to an opening round victory over the Patriot League Tournament champion Army Black Knights on November 15, with the Nittany Lions logging a 3-0 victory that included five assists in the match. Penn State booked five assists or more in a fixture for the first time since doing so against Maryland in the B1G opener on September 11. The Blue & White earned a trip to the second round of the national postseason for the 17th year in a row, booking opening-round victories in every year since 2009. PSU is now 48-7-1 in NCAA Tournament matches played on Jeffrey Field, 67-28-3 in the national postseason all-time and has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament or later on 28 occasions. Penn State has now won five consecutive NCAA Tournament matches on its home field dating to its last loss in the third round of the 2022 national postseason, dropping a heartbreaking back-and-forth 3-2 decision to the Virginia Cavaliers on November 20 of that year.
SCOUTING THE SECOND ROUND
After landing nine of its 18 members in the NCAA Tournament field, the Big Ten Conference remains strong in the national postseason with seven of its programs advancing to the second round. In total, 28 of the 32 remaining NCAA Tournament teams come from one of the Power Four conferences. Three unseeded teams logged opening-round upsets in 2025, highlighted by Lipscomb over (6) Mississippi State, defending champion North Carolina over (3) Tennessee and Ohio State over (8) Georgia. The Nittany Lions share a region with the 2025 Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament champion Washington Huskies, who will clash with SEC powerhouse Arkansas in Thursday's first match from Charlottesville. The Huskies and Razorbacks will kick off at 3 p.m. (ET) and will face the winner of Penn State-Virginia in the third round on Sunday, November 23 at 2 p.m. (ET).
Next Up: #7 Virginia
CLASHING WITH THE CAVALIERS
Led by veteran head coach Steve Swanson in his 26th year at the helm in Charlottesville, the Virginia Cavaliers enter the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a 13-3-4 start to the campaign. UVA garnered a No. 1 seed in the field of 64 as an at-large representative out of the ACC, simultaneously boasting the No. 7 ranking in the country according to the United Soccer Coaches poll released on November 4. Virginia boasts a wide array of impressive victories from the 2025 season, highlighted by top-10 victories against Duke and Penn State at home in Charlottesville, as well as a pair of nationally ranked draws against Georgetown and Florida State. UVA advanced into the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a 5-0 thrashing of High Point on November 14. Individually, the Cavaliers are anchored by the one-two offensive punch of Maggie Cagle and Lia Godfrey, who have both surpassed the 24-point mark with 10 goals apiece. In goal for UVA, Victoria Safradin has played in 19-of-20 matches, boasts a goals-against average of 0.74 and a save percentage of 0.829.
STORY OF THE SERIES
Penn State and Army are set to meet for just the second time in each program's respective history on Saturday evening, with the Nittany Lions taking the only prior meeting by a 1-0 differential on Jeffrey Field during the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament opening round. Army's most recent NCAA Tournament appearance came in that match against the Blue & White in Happy Valley, with the Black Knights earning the Patriot League's automatic bid in mirror fashion to the 2025 team. Then-junior midfielder Christine Nairn found the back of the net in the 85th minute to dispatch with the Black Knights in a 1-0 finish on November 11, 2011. Against all Patriot League institutions, Penn State owns a domineering 32-1-1 overall record, with the vast majority of those matches coming in a 19-0-1 series against Bucknell that has not been renewed since 2016. The Nittany Lions will face off against the Patriot League's champion in the NCAA Tournament for eighth time ever on Saturday, boasting a 7-0-0 record through the prior seven matchups.
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.