MATCH DAY: Penn State WSOC at No. 6 Ohio State

OPENING KICKOFF

• Penn State women’s soccer opens Big Ten Conference action on the road at No. 6 Ohio State on Thursday. Kickoff from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) with a national broadcast on Big Ten Network, the first network contest for the Nittany Lions. 

• The Blue & White own a 24-5-3 record in Big Ten openers. Thursday will be the 11th time the Nittany Lions open Big Ten play on the road, the first since 2022. 

• Penn State enters the match ranked 18th in the country in points per match with 8.80. The team is tied for 18th in the nation in scoring offense at three goals per match. PSU also ranks tied for 22nd nationally in assists per match at 2.80. All three statistics rank third in the Big Ten. 

• Eight Nittany Lions have registered at least three points with seven of them recording at least one goal and one assist. Five additional members of the squad have one goal contribution each. In total, PSU has recorded 44 points through five matches. 

• Penn State is coming off a 1-1 draw against Virginia Tech, on September 3 at Jeffrey Field to close out nonconference play. 

• In the contest, redshirt senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress set a new career high with 10 saves against the Hokies. Gress is up to 21 saves on the season with a 1.08 goals against average and .808 save percentage. The Lyndhurst, New Jersey native’s performance followed a Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honor she earned after recording back-to-back shutouts against Bucknell and Brown. 

• Senior forward Paige Kalal scored her second goal of the season off a penalty kick in the first half. She joined junior forward Aubrey Kulpa, redshirt sophomore defender Lilly Burger and redshirt freshman forward Nicole Crane with multiple goals this season. 

• Erica Dambach, serving as the head coach of the Nittany Lions for the 20th season, earned her 300th career victory as the leader of Penn State women's soccer against Bucknell. With the triumph, Dambach further cemented her status as one of the all-time great coaches in collegiate women's soccer and Penn State Athletics.

BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN

• Ohio State enters Thursday night’s matchup unbeaten with a 4-0-1 record and the No. 6 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches poll with a TopDrawerSoccer ranking of 11th. The Buckeyes are riding a four-match winning streak into league play, including two ranked wins over No. 12 Kansas, 1-0, and No. 23 Memphis, 3-1, in their most recent outing. 

• OSU ranks tied for 23rd nationally in goals against average at 0.400, conceding just two goals in five matches. Peighton Northrup has played all 450 minutes in goal with 22 saves to just two goals allowed in addition to three shutouts. Her save percentage of 0.917 places her tied for 17th in the country. 

• The Buckeyes own an 82-59 edge in shots compared to their opponents but have an even split in corner kicks with 17 earned and conceded. 

• Amanda Schlueter paces the Ohio State offense with nine points behind four goals an assist. She’s taken 25 shots, the most on the team by a significant margin, with 10 of those on target. Schlueter tallied the game-winning goal in three of the team’s four victories. She was an All-Big Ten Second Team selection in 2025 after being a First Team honoree in 2024. 

• Elle Britt has four goal contributions, highlighted by three goals scored, to rank second on the team in points. Britt earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors a week ago following a three-goal and one-assist week. Jadin Bonham and Callie Tumilty have both contributed two assists to tie for the team lead. Bonham also has a goal tally. 

• Defender and midfielder Ava Bramblett has played all 450 minutes for the Buckeyes. She is second on the team with 12 shots.

STORY OF THE SERIES

• Penn State and Ohio State have met 38 times previously with the Nittany Lions owning a substantial, 26-10-2 edge in the series. 

• The two programs have met every season since Penn State’s inaugural season in 1994 with the Buckeyes serving as the longest-running series without pause for the Blue & White. Overall, Ohio State is Penn State’s second-most played opponent with only Michigan having more matches with 42 meetings. 

• A season ago, the Nittany Lions closed out the regular season with a 2-0 victory against the Buckeyes in front of a White Out crowd at Jeffrey Field.  

• In Columbus, the series is nearly deadlocked with Ohio State holding a slight 8-7-1 advantage. Penn State last won at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium during the 2019 season, a 3-2 triumph.