MATCH DAY: No. 21 Penn State WSOC vs. No. 16 Purdue

OPENING KICKOFF

• No. 21 and six-seed Penn State women’s soccer begins postseason play in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament against No. 18 and three-seed Purdue on Thursday night. Kickoff from Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri is scheduled for 8 p.m. (ET)/7 p.m. (CT) with a live stream on B1G+. 

• The Blue & White finished the regular season with a 9-3-5 overall record and 24 points in Big Ten action following a 7-2-3 campaign. The team’s seven Big Ten wins this season are the program’s most since the COVID-altered 2020 season, played in the spring of 2021, when the team won nine conference contests. 

• The Nittany Lions stayed inside the top 25 of the IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches poll at No. 21 in addition to ranking No. 14 according to TopDrawerSoccer and No. 20 in the NCAA RPI. 

• The Big Ten announced its postseason honors on Tuesday with six Nittany Lions appearing on All-Big Ten teams. Aubrey Kulpa extended Penn State’s streak to 33 consecutive seasons with a First Team All-Big Ten selection. Kayleigh Herr and Paige Kalal earned Second Team honors with Lily Boyden garnering Third Team accolades in addition to being chosen as the team’s Sportsmanship Award honoree. Ellie Kocher and Paige Pasinski were Penn State’s first All-Freshman Team selections since Kaitlyn MacBean and Amelia White in 2022. 

• The Blue & White defense allowed just eight goals in 12 conference contests, the third fewest allowed in the Big Ten. The defensive unit produced six clean sheets in conference fixtures, tied for fifth in the league. For the entire season, PSU has allowed just 13 goals to rank third in the conference.  

• The Nittany Lions rank seventh in the Big Ten at 1.417 goals per conference contest. The team’s average margin of victory of 0.75 goals per match is fifth in league play. PSU has taken 77 corners in B1G play, the third-most in the conference. 

• Penn State concluded the regular season with a 4-0 thumping of Indiana at Jeffrey Field. It was the program’s 550th all-time victory and secured an undefeated regular season at home. 

• Freshman midfielder Emma Johnson tallied her first collegiate goal to open the scoring shortly before Kocher registered her second career goal later in the frame. Senior defender Kaelyn Wolfe was the other goal scorer for the Nittany Lions. 

• Kalal recorded two assists in the match to become the team’s season leader with six. Pasinski, Kulpa and senior defender Brooklyn Antonucci also recorded assists in the match.

POINTS ON PURDUE

• No. 16 Purdue finished the regular season with a 15-2-2 record and a 9-2-1 mark in Big Ten play to earn the No. 3-seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The team’s nine Big Ten wins are the most in program history. 

• The Boilermakers enter the postseason with the highest-scoring offense in the nation at 3.47 goals per match and 10.21 points a night. The team has the best goal differential in the country at +49 and has beaten Big Ten foes by an average of 1.42 goals. 

• Jaiden Anderson, named the Big Ten Forward of the Year and a First Team All-Big Ten Selection on Tuesday, has the second-most goals in the country with 18. She has scored 11 in Big Ten play and has 26 points against Big Ten competition this season. 

• Irene Campo and Megan Santa Cruz were Second Team All-Big Ten honorees in the midfield following 24-point campaigns this season. Campo recorded 15 points in conference action with six goals and three assists. 

• McKenzie Carle and Tanna Schornstein were selected to the Third Team with Carle representing the forwards and Schornstein on the defensive side. Carle posted a 20-point season with eight goals and four assists while Schornstein started all 19 of Purdue’s matches on the back line to go along with two goals and two assists. 

STORY OF THE SERIES

• Penn State and Purdue have matched up 25 times since 1999 with PSU holding a substantial, 20-1-4 lead in the series. 

• The Blue & White have not lost to the Boilermakers since 2003, winning 17 of the last 20 matchups.  

• The Nittany Lions and Boilermakers battled to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Jeffrey Field earlier this season. Paige Kalal contributed to both Penn State goals with a penalty kick score before assisting Aubrey Kulpa’s tally. 

• Penn State and Purdue have met just once in the Big Ten Tournament, a 2-0 victory to send the Blue & White to the 2019 Big Ten Championship. The Nittany Lions would go on to win the title that season.