No. 19 Penn State women’s soccer (9-3-2, 3-2-1 Big Ten) drew 1-1 against Rutgers (8-1-3, 4-0-2 Big Ten) on Friday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.

The Nittany Lions took an early lead in the fourth minute of the game, but Rutgers came out strong at the beginning of the second half and found the equalizer three minutes into the second half. Both teams had multiple scoring opportunities to break the deadlock but, in the end, they couldn’t find a game-winning goal, leading to Penn State’s second draw of the season.

How It Happened

Penn State put the pressure on Rutgers from the start as it played a high press in the first minute of the game. This pressure led to Rutgers losing the ball in its area and the Nittany Lions had their first chance of the game when Kaitlyn MacBean attempted a shot inside the box but was saved by Rutgers’ goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer.

After the missed opportunity, MacBean kept making an impact for the Nittany Lions as she had another opportunity two minutes later, but her shot was blocked by Rutgers’ defense. However, Penn State regained the ball quickly after the block.

Jordan Fusco played the ball to Amelia White on the left flank, who found an open MacBean inside the box, and MacBean placed the ball into the back of the net to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.

Didn't even need five minutes

1H | 6:56 | PSU 1, RUT 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/TxPLFjRISM

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) October 4, 2024

A minute after MacBean’s goal, the Scarlet Knights got their first scoring opportunity when Ashley Baran’s header hit the outside of the post. This possession ended with Penn State’s defense standing tall and winning a goal kick.

Both teams shared possession for the next three minutes before the Nittany Lions got their first corner kick in the eighth minute. However, Penn State couldn’t capitalize on this set piece and the possession ended with a Rutgers goal kick. The Scarlet Knights put the pressure on the Nittany Lions and created another dangerous opportunity in the 11th minute when Shaela Bradley’s shot forced Penn State’s goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress to make a diving save and a corner kick for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights couldn’t capitalize but earned another corner kick.

On this corner kick, Rutgers managed to create another dangerous scoring chance as Sydney Urban found the space to take a shot on target, but Penn State’s defense managed to block the shot and got the ball out of dangerous territory.

The tempo of the game slowed down as both teams struggled to break down each other’s defense for the next seven minutes. However, in the 20th minute, Penn State was able to create another dangerous scoring opportunity off a throw-in and MacBean found the space to take a shot, but her shot was saved by Bodmer. After this opportunity, the Nittany Lions quickly regained the ball and threatened Rutgers’ third when Jordan Fusco took a shot into the bottom right of the net which forced another save by Bodmer.

Rutgers threatened Penn State’s side of the field for the next six minutes but couldn’t create any dangerous opportunities. However, in the 27th minute, the Scarlet Knights created a dangerous scoring opportunity when Riley Tiernan attempted a shot into the bottom center of the net. This forced Gress to make her second save of the game. After the Nittany Lions got the ball out of dangerous territory, a free kick was awarded to Penn State, but it couldn’t capitalize on this scoring opportunity as MacBean’s shot was off target.

As both teams slowed down play and shared possessions, they struggled to create any dangerous opportunities for the next seven minutes. However, Natalie Wilson created a scoring opportunity for the Nittany Lions in the 36th minute but was unable to capitalize as her shot was saved by Bodmer.

After Penn State made two substitutions in the 40th minute, the Scarlet Knights got very reckless in the last five minutes of the first half and committed over five fouls. However, the Nittany Lions couldn’t take advantage of these free kicks and didn’t create any meaningful opportunities. The first half ended with the Nittany Lions having a 1-0 lead over the Scarlet Knights.

The second half began with Rutgers dominating possession from the get-go on Penn State’s side of the field. The Scarlet Knights kept mounting the pressure for the first two minutes of the second half as they searched for an equalizer. After Rutgers earned a throw-in, the ball was played into Bradley, and she found the space to shoot the ball outside of the box and found the net for the Scarlet Knights to tie the game at one.

After Rutgers tied the game, it kept threatening to score another goal as it dominated possession. In the 49th minute, Penn State got the ball out of its side of the field and the team went on a counterattack. However, this attack was unsuccessful as White’s shot was blocked by Rutgers’ defense, which resulted in a corner kick for the Nittany Lions. On this corner kick, Penn State created a scoring opportunity as Mieke Schiemann created the space to take the shot on target, but her shot was off target.

The Scarlet Knights refused to let the Nittany Lions dominate possession of the ball and created another dangerous scoring opportunity when the ball was played into Allie Post, who was unmarked, but Gress made a crucial save as the shot went to the bottom center of the net. This possession ended with a Penn State throw-in.

Penn State started to take control of the game as it dominated possession for the next five minutes. In the 58th minute, the Nittany Lions created a dangerous scoring when the offense played the ball into White on the right flank. As she played the ball into Rutgers’ third, Bodmer made a save but didn’t secure the ball. This led the rebound to get to Bella Ayscue with an open net, but she failed to capitalize on this huge opportunity as her shot went off-target.

Penn State kept mounting the pressure as it searched to take the lead back. In the 62nd minute, MacBean created the space to shoot the ball with her left foot as she tried to break past her defender, but her shot in the bottom left of the net was saved by Bodmer. Three minutes later, MacBean created another scoring opportunity for the Nittany Lions, but Rutgers’ defense stood tall and blocked her shot, which resulted in a corner kick. Penn State didn’t create a scoring opportunity and Rutgers got the ball out of dangerous territory right away.

Both teams slowed down the pace of the game for nine minutes as the deadlock stayed intact, but the Scarlet Knights had another scoring opportunity when Kylie Daigle’s shot was saved by Gress. Five minutes later, Penn State created a scoring opportunity when Katie Scott created space to take a shot outside of the box, but the shot was off target.

With 10 minutes left, Penn State played a high press in hopes of finding a game-winning goal. However, it struggled to create any meaningful opportunities as Rutgers’ defense stood tall. With less than five minutes to go, the Nittany Lions kept their foot on the gas and created a dangerous opportunity when a rebounded ball played into Kaelyn Wolfe before she blasted the ball with her right foot and forced Bodmer to make yet another save.

As the clock ticked down, the Nittany Lions kept the pressure coming for the Scarlet Knights. More scoring opportunities came Penn State’s way, but it didn’t capitalize as Bodmer came up huge with two critical saves off shots by Rebecca Cooke and MacBean. The clock ticked down to zero with the deadlock staying intact at one.

Takeaways

• Bodmer was the player of the game for the Scarlet Knights. She made nine saves in total and always came clutch for the team when they needed it the most. Without her, the result of this game could have been different.
• MacBean was once again the catalyst of this Nittany Lions team. She made an instant impact by scoring the first goal of the game and had five shots on target.
• Penn State’s inefficiency on goal was on display as it had 20 shots with 10 on target. In the end, the Nittany Lions managed to score only one goal as Rutgers only had nine shots with five on target. This team will need to be more efficient on goal to win games in the future.

What’s Next?

Penn State will hit the road to take on Maryland at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 10. The game will be streamed on BTN+.