No. 4 Penn State Women’s Soccer Rolls Over No. 8 Texas Tech 4-0
No. 4 Penn State women’s soccer (1-0-0) dominated No. 8 Texas Tech (0-1-0) 4-0 in the first regular season game for 2024-25 Penn State sports.
All four goals for the Nittany Lions came in an impressive first half, though Penn State still maintained its grip on the game in the second. The Nittany Lions allowed two shots from the Red Raiders the whole match.
How It Happened
With plenty of roster turnover, head coach Erica Dambach rolled out a new-look starting XI.
Penn State, which started with possession, got to work early in Texas Tech’s defending third. A corner kick from Penn State just under three minutes into the match somehow missed the net and the Red Raiders held on.
Texas Tech didn’t hold possession once in the attacking half before the Nittany Lions opened the scoring. Tennessee transfer Jordan Fusco took her chance in the seventh minute with a beautiful strike to the top-left corner as Penn State took a 1-0 lead.
That’s one way to ring in the season
— Onward State (@OnwardState) August 15, 2024pic.twitter.com/0kKQWkZ1QQ
Penn State kept up its intense press after Fusco’s goal, but Texas Tech slowly gained a foothold in the game. Notching a shot and a corner within a few minutes of each other, though Penn State’s defense held strong.
Despite Texas Tech’s work, the Nittany Lions struck again in the 17th minute after their fourth corner kick. Kaitlyn MacBean found Fusco’s cross in the middle of the box. One header later, Penn State had a 2-0 lead.
After MacBean’s goal, forward Rebecca Cooke went down near Texas Tech’s box holding her knee. Cooke, who spent much of the 2023 season on the bench but was expected to have a greater impact this season, seemed to twist her knee in a challenge. She was carried off the field by trainers.
MacBean received a nice ball into Texas Tech’s box but was taken down before she could shoot. While a penalty wasn’t initially awarded, the referee gave Penn State a penalty moments later. Roman Lapi finished the job with composure and gave her side the 3-0 lead in the 25th minute.
Just as it seemed the first half would close out relatively quietly, the Nittany Lions got one more goal in the dying moments of the half. A great ball played to Aubrey Kulpa, similar to the one played to MacBean, found Kulpa striding into the box before she tucked away goal No. 4 in the 44th minute.
Penn State nearly made it a 5-0 game with 24 seconds left, but a beautiful shot was just tipped over the crossbar by Faith Nguyen. The Nittany Lions would have to live with having a mere four-goal lead after 45 minutes.
MacKenzie Gress, making her first start in goal for Penn State, made her first save in the 49th minute of action. All before Texas Tech registered its first shot on goal, Penn State had notched 11 shots, six shots on goal, and forced two saves.
Both sides spent the early part of the second half trying to poke through each others’ backline, though Penn State had more success. Fusco made a good effort to earn a brace, but her poked shot went right to Nguyen in the center of the net in the 57th minute.
Texas Tech began tallying shots in the second half, though through 25 minutes, none were on target than the one Gress saved. Meanwhile, MacBean forced two nice saves from Nguyen in the 71st minute to keep the score at 4-0.
Texas Tech drew a penalty kick after another long review in the 72nd minute. However, Gress made an impressive save to her right and kept the shutout.
Looks like Penn State’s filled that Kat Asman-shaped hole in the roster pretty well
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) August 16, 2024pic.twitter.com/jLki7gOD38
Penn State pulled Gress after the penalty kick save and threw in backup Amanda Poorbaugh to close out the game. Poorbaugh, like Gress, didn’t have to face much in the dying minutes of the match. Penn State made two more nice runs in the last three minutes but couldn’t find the net before the clock ran out and secured the 4-0 win.
Takeaways
- Fusco knows how to make an entrance. Just minutes into her Nittany Lion career, the transfer showed why Penn State wanted her on its roster with a goal and an assist. That opening goal was a beauty and something Penn State will want to see more of in the coming months.
- Penn State’s whole defense, Gress included, had a great day. The defense didn’t make Gress bail it out too much. However, when Gress was needed, she stepped up in a big way.
- There’s no better way to describe this Penn State team other than scary. Hope you’ve got the money to get to Cary, North Carolina, for the Women’s College Cup, folks. If not, start saving.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions won’t play again until students start getting back to campus, taking on Virginia at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 22, at Jeffrey Field.
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