No. 8 Penn State women’s soccer (5-3-2, 1-1-1 Big Ten) fell to Wisconsin (7-2-1, 1-1-1 Big Ten) 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field. This was Penn State’s last game of a three-game homestand and its first loss at Jeffrey Field this season.

After tying against Nebraska on Thursday, the Nittany Lions got off to a fast start as they scored less than seven minutes into the first half on a goal by Kaitlyn MacBean before Wisconsin tied it at one heading into halftime. In the second half, Wisconsin took the lead on another goal by Erin Connolly. The Nittany Lions had the opportunity to tie the game on a penalty kick by Julia Raich, but Drew Stover saved the penalty as the Badgers managed to hold on to the 2-1 win.

How It Happened

Wisconsin earned the first throw-in of the game 25 seconds into the game in its territory. Penn State dominated possession, and Aubrey Kulpa had the first scoring opportunity, but her shot went wide right after it was deflected off a Badger’s player. This led to the first corner of the game. Julia Raich tried to play the ball into the box, but the ball went out of bounds for a Wisconsin goal kick.

Throw-ins were exchanged for the next three minutes, but in the 5th minute, Kaitlyn MacBean had a scoring opportunity, but her shot was blocked as Wisconsin’s goalkeeper, Drew Stover, picked up the ball. However, the Nittany Lions recovered the ball right away, and Riley Greason played a beautiful cross to Raich on the right flank as she got past Wisconsin’s defense.

Raich drove the ball down the flank as Stover started to get off her line. However, instead of going one-on-one against the Stover, she played the ball to a wide-open MacBean inside the box, who buried the scoring opportunity into the back of the net to give Penn State the lead less than seven minutes into the game.

I mean, you couldn't draw that up any better

1H | 8:09 | PSU 1, WISC 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/pZGrYS57Yn

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) September 21, 2025

The Badgers earned their first corner of the game in the eighth minute but could not get a shot on target as the Nittany Lions cleared away the danger. In the 12th minute, Penn State became very aggressive on offense, and Kulpa had a chance to extend its lead, but Stover’s save kept Wisconsin’s deficit at one. However, it created another dangerous opportunity as Kulpa played MacBean just outside the box, but Stover made another great save as the ball hit the post and went out for a Penn State corner.

It could not capitalize on this corner, but the ball went out of bounds once again for another Penn State corner. The Nittany Lions came close to adding another goal on a shot by Kulpa, but her shot was blocked before it went out for a Badgers’ throw-in. In the 17th minute, Wisconsin had its first dangerous scoring opportunity as Maddie Ishaug was fouled by MacBean outside Penn State’s box, leading to a free kick. The Badgers got their first shot of the game on this free kick, but it went off-target.

The Nittany Lions continued to high press the Badgers’ defense and MacBean had another dangerous scoring opportunity inside Wisconsin’s box. However, once again, Stover made an amazing save which led to another Penn State corner. It could not test Wisconsin’s defense as it got the ball out of danger. The tempo of the game slowed down for the next four minutes before the Badgers started to cause problems for the Nittany Lions’ defense as they searched for an equalizer.

Taylor Gordon tried to tie this game for the Badgers, but her shot was blocked. In the 27th minute, Wisconsin continued to play the high press and got another scoring opportunity on a shot by Anya Gulbrandsen before it was blocked, leading to a Badgers’ corner. The Badgers got close to scoring on a shot by Ashley Martinez, but Penn State’s defense stood tall as it cleared the ball out of danger for a Wisconsin throw-in.

However, on the throw-in, Ottey threw the ball to Delaney Cox on the left flank, who drove the ball down the flank before she played a low ball to Erin Connolly inside Penn State’s box. She was able to hit the ball with her right foot on her first touch, and she scored for the Badgers to tie the game at one.

Penn State tried to break the deadlock on a shot by Riley Cross which forced Stover to make another save in the 30th minute. Both teams went back-and-forth for the next 10 minutes as neither team managed to break the deadlock. The Nittany Lions looked to have gotten past the Badgers’ defense in the 40th minute but they were called for offside.

With a minute left in the first half, Wisconsin earned a free kick. The ball was played into the box, but Penn State goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress came off her line to grab the ball. The first half came to an end as the deadlock stayed intact at one.

The second half got underway, and the Badgers got off to a fast start as they got into the Nittany Lions’ territory. In the 49th minute, Wisconsin earned a throw-in as it tried to get the ball out of its territory. The ball was thrown to Ottey, and she played a great cross to Connolly on the right flank who got past Penn State’s defense and stayed onside. This left her one-on-one against Gress and capitalized as her shot went into the top right-hand corner of the net to give Wisconsin a 2-1 lead.

After the goal, both teams traded throw-ins for the next four minutes before the Badgers earned the first corner of the second half. The Nittany Lions survived the Badgers’ offensive pressure as they blocked two shots inside their box before earning a throw-in. Penn State started to pile up the pressure offensively as it searched for an equalizer and in the 59th minute, MacBean tried to tie the game, but her shot was blocked.

After this opportunity, Wisconsin started to match Penn State’s intensity, and it tried to extend its lead to two, but Guldbrandsen’s shot went off-target. It continued to pile up the pressure as Martinez got a shot on goal but was blocked by the Nittany Lions’ defense, which led to a Wisconsin corner. Maddie Ishaug managed to get a shot off the corner, but once again, it was blocked, leading to another Badgers corner. They could not convert on the corner as the Nittany Lions got the ball out of danger.

In the 69th minute, Penn State started to get into Wisconsin’s territory and MacBean drove the ball down the left flank before she played the ball into the box. Raich got the ball but was taken down inside the box by Connolly and the referee called a penalty kick for the Nittany Lions. She stepped up to take the penalty in an attempt to tie the game, but Grover saved the penalty as she guessed right to the bottom left of the net. Wisconsin’s lead stayed intact with 20 minutes left in the game.

The tempo of the game slowed down for the next five minutes as the Nittany Lions continued to search for the equalizer. In the 76th minute, Greason got a shot on-goal, but it went off-target. In the span of four minutes, Raich and MacBean got scoring opportunities but could not capitalize as both their shots went off-target.

With 10 minutes left, Penn State played the high press, but it could not test Stover as Kulpa’s shot went off-target in the 82nd minute. In the 87th minute, the Nittany Lions earned a corner kick in attempts to tie the game. However, it could convert on this corner kick as Amelia White’s shot was blocked before the Badgers cleared the ball out of danger. Grover made another save off a shot by MacBean with a minute left before the game came to an end with Wisconsin holding on to the win.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s offense was all over the place as it got 18 shots including seven on-target. However, it could only score one goal and missed a penalty kick in the process, which led its first loss of the season at Jeffrey Field as its inefficiency was on display today.
• The heroics of Wisconsin goalkeeper, Drew Stover, was the reason why Wisconsin won this game. Along with two goals by Erin Connolly, she had four saves in the first half which allowed the Badgers to stay in the game before they tied at one. She went to record five saves in total including a saved penalty that prevented the Nittany Lions from tying the game at two.
• Despite the loss, Kaitlyn MacBean was Penn State’s offensive anchor today as she scored a goal in the first half. She had a total of a seven shots including three on-target, but Stover made great saves that prevented her from increasing her goal total.

What’s Next?

Penn State will hit the road to continue Big Ten play when it takes on Illinois in Champaign, Illinois at 8 p.m. on Thursday, September 25. The game will be streamed on BTN+.