Alabama

No. 4 Penn State women’s soccer rolls over No. 8 Texas Tech 4-0

Idris Bevan August 16, 2024

The No. 4 Penn State women’s soccer team (1-0-0) dominated No. 8 Texas Tech (0-1-0) 4-0 in the first regular season game of 2024-25 Penn State sports.

All four of the Nittany Lions’ goals came in an impressive first half, although Penn State remained in control of the game in the second half. The Nittany Lions allowed two shots from the Red Raiders all game.

How it happened

In view of the many personnel changes, head coach Erica Dambach rolled out a new starting eleven.

Penn State, which initially played possession-based, went to work early in Texas Tech’s defensive third. A Penn State corner kick just under three minutes into the game somehow missed the net and the Red Raiders held on.

Texas Tech didn’t have the ball in the attacking half once before the Nittany Lions scored first. Tennessee transfer Jordan Fusco took her chance in the seventh minute with a beautiful shot into the top left corner to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.

Penn State continued its intense pressure after Fusco’s goal, but Texas Tech slowly got into the game. Within a few minutes, they had a shot on goal and a corner, but Penn State’s defense held firm.

Despite Texas Tech’s efforts, the Nittany Lions struck again in the 17th minute on their fourth corner kick. Kaitlyn MacBean found Fusco’s cross in the middle of the box. A header later gave Penn State a 2-0 lead.

After MacBean’s goal, forward Rebecca Cooke went down near the Texas Tech penalty box, holding her knee. Cooke, who spent much of the 2023 season on the bench but was expected to have a bigger impact this season, appeared to twist her knee in a tackle and was carried off the field by trainers.

MacBean got a nice ball into the Texas Tech box, but was brought down before she could shoot. Although no penalty was initially given, the referee awarded a penalty to Penn State moments later. Roman Lapi calmly finished the job, putting her team ahead 3-0 in the 25th minute.

Just when it seemed like the first half would end relatively quietly, the Nittany Lions scored yet another goal in the closing moments of the half. A great ball played to Aubrey Kulpa, similar to the one to MacBean, found Kulpa, who marched into the box before scoring her fourth goal in the 44th minute.

Penn State almost made it 5-0 with 24 seconds left, but Faith Nguyen deflected a beautiful shot just over the crossbar. The Nittany Lions had to settle for a four-goal lead after 45 minutes.

MacKenzie Gress, making her first start as a goalkeeper for Penn State, saved her first shot in the 49th minute. Before Texas Tech fired its first shot on goal, Penn State had already fired 11 shots, including six on goal, and forced two saves.

Both sides tried to break down each other’s defenses early in the second half, with Penn State having more success. Fusco attempted to score a brace, but her shot found Nguyen in the middle of the net in the 57th minute.

Texas Tech began to get shots in the second half, but none were on goal except for the one Gress saved in the 25th minute. Meanwhile, MacBean forced Nguyen into two nice saves in the 71st minute to keep the score at 4-0.

Texas Tech was forced to take a penalty in the 72nd minute after another long review, but Gress made an impressive save on the right side to prevent the shutout.

Penn State pulled Gress after the penalty save and brought in substitute Amanda Poorbaugh to finish the game. Poorbaugh, like Gress, didn’t have to do much in the final minutes of the game. Penn State made two more nice runs in the final three minutes but couldn’t find the net before time ran out, securing the 4-0 victory.

Findings

Fusco knows how to make a statement. Just minutes into her career with the Nittany Lions, the transfer showed why Penn State wanted her on the team with a goal and an assist. The first goal was beautiful and something Penn State wants to see more of in the coming months.
The entire Penn State defense, including Gress, had a great day. The defense didn’t force Gress to make saves too much. However, when Gress was needed, they made it a priority.
There’s no better way to describe this Penn State team than “terrifying.” Hope you have enough money to get to the Women’s College Cup in Cary, North Carolina, folks. If not, start saving.

What’s next?

The Nittany Lions will not play again until students return to campus. They will face Virginia on Thursday, August 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.

Joe is a senior journalism student at Penn State and the senior editor of Onward State. He writes about all things Penn State and is single-handedly responsible for the 2017 Rose Bowl. Feel free to buy him a pitch at Cafe 210. For silly stuff, follow him on Twitter (iamjoelister). For serious stuff, email him ((email protected)).

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