UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women’s soccer saw a trio of student-athletes garner Big Ten Player to Watch accolades on Monday, with fifth-year goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress, midfielder Molly Martin and junior forward Aubrey Kulpa landing those honors in a release by the conference office.
The Nittany Lions joined all 18 Big Ten Conference member institutions with a trio of players on the preseason watch list, with Martin serving as PSU’s lone repeat representative. As a whole, the program was selected to finish sixth in the 18-member league behind Michigan State, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Gress started all 21 matches in goal for the Nittany Lions during the 2025 season, playing more than 1,825 minutes while posting a 10-8-3 record. She recorded 60 saves, a 1.23 goals-against average and a .706 save percentage while helping Penn State register six shutouts, including clean sheets against Santa Clara, Liberty, Maryland, Purdue, Ohio State and Army West Point. Gress anchored a defensive unit that limited opponents to just 25 goals, a .096 shooting percentage and 1.19 goals per match, providing veteran stability between the posts throughout the season.
Martin appeared in all 21 matches for Penn State in 2025 and provided consistent production in the midfield with one goal and four assists, finishing the year with six points. Her four assists ranked among the team's leaders and highlighted her ability to create scoring opportunities, while her lone goal stood as a game-winner. Martin also contributed defensively as part of a midfield unit that helped Penn State outscore opponents 38-25 while limiting opposing teams to 12.4 shots per match over the course of the season.
Kulpa emerged as one of Penn State's top offensive threats during the 2025 campaign, totaling eight goals and six assists for 22 points despite appearing in just 15 matches. Her 22 points ranked first on the team, while her eight goals were second-most among all Nittany Lions. Kulpa posted a .205 shooting percentage and placed 22 of her 39 shot attempts on frame, recording a .564 shots-on-goal percentage while scoring two game-winning goals. She averaged 1.47 points per match, giving Penn State one of the Big Ten's most productive returning attacking players entering the 2026 season.
Penn State is fresh off another trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament, with PSU reaching the big dance in each of the last 32 seasons in addition to booking a second round-or-better finish in each of the last 17 years. The Nittany Lions reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago and cracked the 10-win threshold for the 32nd year in a row, a stretch of consistent success that runs concurrently with PSU’s entire varsity history since 1994. The Blue & White return team captains Mackenzie Gress and Molly Martin, as well as the program’s leading scorer from the 2025 season in rising-junior Aubrey Kulpa, who totaled 22 points in just 15 appearances a season ago.
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