No. 12 Penn State women’s soccer (7-1-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) defeated Columbia (1-3-3) 2-1 on Senior Day at Jeffery Field. 

Penn State’s seniors came out strong on a day celebrating themselves. Jordan Fusco and Kaitlyn MacBean combined in the 16th minute to take an early lead. This was followed 20 minutes later by a Mieke Schiemann goal from the penalty spot. The second half slowed down as both teams struggled to find chances. Columbia was able to cut the Nittany Lion lead in half in the 84th minute but could not find the equalizer.

How It Happened

Amelia White created an early chance for the Nittany Lions. The senior waited for her defender to square her up, then blew by her before playing a ball into the box. However, Lauren Rodriguez made a nice save for Columbia to keep the game scoreless.

Five minutes later, MacBean found space on the right-hand side of the 18-yard box and rattled a shot off the crossbar. Penn State was in full control of the game early. 

With 30 minutes left in the first half, Fusco opened the scoring. MacBean battled for the ball and poked it out to Fusco, who found herself on a two-on-one with Natalie Wilson. Fusco chose to keep the ball and buried it into the bottom right corner to take a 1-0 lead.

Just a marvelous strike from beyond the 18… BRAVO Jordan

1H | 18:57 | PSU 1, CU 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/vs9QW4SA4G

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) September 15, 2024

As the first half went on, Penn State struggled to create the pressure it had at the start. While the Nittany Lions still had most of the ball, another chance wasn’t made in the next 15 minutes. 

Finally, in the 37th minute, Olivia Borgen won Penn State a free kick 40 yards from goal. The delivery was perfect and a Columbia defender had to use her hand to stop the ball. The ref didn’t originally call the penalty but after they went to video review, the call was made. 

Schiemann stepped up and doubled the Penn State lead to 2-0 with her penalty kick. 

The ball spent the rest of the half in the midfield and the Nittany Lions went into the halftime break up by two.

Penn State’s first chance in the second half came with 38 minutes to play. MacBean ran onto a well-weighted ball and beat her first defender with a creative chop. MacBean tried to take a shot but it was blocked resulting in a corner. 

Another opportunity came a few minutes later when MacBean found Rebecca Cooke in the 18-yard box. The Columbia defenders collapsed, though, and cleared the ball out wide. 

The same connection almost put Penn State up three, eight minutes later. Cooke tried to push the ball past Rodriguez but she dove perfectly to shut the move down. 

The second half mirrored the first half in the way that it slowed down as it went on. From the 60th minute to the 80th, there were no real opportunities for either team. Penn State still looked the more dangerous team but had nothing to show for it. 

With seven minutes remaining, the Lions cut the lead to one after a mistake from the Penn State defense. A misplaced pass found a Columbia forward in the box who made no mistake in finding the back of the net. 

Penn State woke up following the goal and held on to win 2-1.

Takeaway

• Fusco and MacBean remained an ultra-dangerous combination. The two are constantly active and push the pace whenever they have the ball. The continuation of their relationship will be vital for Penn State come post-season play.
• Any non-conference game surrounded by Big Ten play is easy to look past. The Nittany Lions did a great job remaining focused and taking a lead in the first half to allow all the seniors to get in the game.
• Penn State’s shooting efficiency has set them apart this season, and today was no different. The Nittany Lions scored on their first two shots on net while Columbia only found one goal despite five shots on target.

What’s Next?

Penn State will remain at Jeffery Field to continue its Big Ten play against Northwestern at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 19. The game will air on BTN+.