No. 18 Penn State women’s soccer (6-4-2, 2-2-1 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern (4-1-6, 0-1-4 Big Ten) 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. With this win, Penn State ended its three-game winless streak and Northwestern’s four-game tie streak.

The Nittany Lions got off to a fast start as Amelia White scored in the 12th minute. The Wildcats were very aggressive on the attack, but Mackenzie Gress made four saves in the first half, which allowed Penn State to hold a one-goal lead heading into the second half.

Penn State scored quickly in the second half to give it a two-goal lead. However, Northwestern was penalized with three minutes left, and it converted to get within one point of tying the game at two. The Wildcats were unable to score another goal, as the Nittany Lions won 2-1.

How It Happened

Riley Greason committed the first foul of the game less than a minute into the game, but Northwestern couldn’t create anything meaningful from the free kick. Penn State got its first scoring chance of the game right after on a shot by Kaitlyn MacBean, but it was blocked, leading to a corner. It couldn’t create a dangerous scoring opportunity as the Wildcats cleared away the danger.

In the 5th minute, Amelia White had one defender to beat before having a one-on-one against the Northwestern goalkeeper. She forced her defender to the left to get the space to shoot, but White’s shot was blocked, leading to an easy grab by Nyamma Nelson. The Wildcats started to get aggressive on offense and got their first scoring opportunity on a shot by Megan Norkett, but it was blocked.

Norkett’s scoring opportunity gave Northwestern momentum as it created three dangerous scoring opportunities in less than two minutes. However, Mackenzie Gress saved two chances, and the other one was blocked, keeping this game scoreless. After withstanding Northwestern’s pressure, the Nittany Lions went on the attack, and MacBean played the ball to Aubrey Kulpa on the left flank. She toe-pocked the ball to White, who hit it first-time with her left foot to score the first goal of the game.

1⃣6⃣7⃣

1H | 12:44 | PSU 1, NU 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/ryz8snapjB

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) September 28, 2025

In the 14th minute, Penn State tried to extend its lead on a shot by Olivia Borgen, but Nelson made a great save to keep Northwestern within one. The tempo of the game picked up over six minutes, as three fouls were committed in the process. MacBean managed to give the Nittany Lions a scoring opportunity, but her shot went off target. Throw-ins were exchanged between both teams for three minutes, and they struggled to break down each other’s defense for almost 10 minutes.

In the 30th minute, Keira Kemmerly tried to tie the game at one for the Wildcats with a shot attempt, but it went off target. The Wildcats continued to pile up the pressure on the Nittany Lions’ defense, and Kelsey Kwon got a scoring opportunity a minute later. However, her shot didn’t have a lot of force, which allowed Gress to make an easy save. The tempo of the game slowed down for five minutes before Northwestern earned a corner. It came close to tying the game on a header by Keira Kemmerly, but it didn’t have a lot of force, leading to an easy save for Gress.

The Wildcats continued to surge on the attack as they put the Nittany Lions’ defense on their heels. However, they managed to stand tall as they didn’t let the Wildcats create any dangerous scoring opportunities before the first half came to an end with Penn State holding a 1-0 lead.

Northwestern played the high press from the get-go of the second half, as it created the first scoring opportunity on a shot by Hayley Newman, which went off target. In the 48th minute, Kemmerly earned the first yellow card of the game as she fouled Sophia Weixler. The Wildcats were not disciplined and committed another foul, leading to a Nittany Lions free kick. They converted on the set piece as Gleason played the cross to Molly Martin, who headed the ball into the bottom left of the net, extending Penn State’s lead to two.

Riley with the service… Molly with the HEADER

2H | 53:18 | PSU 2, NU#WeAre pic.twitter.com/b2hFLPxqu2

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) September 28, 2025

A VAR review occurred on the goal, but the call stood. Both teams went back and forth for the next 10 minutes as they struggled to break each other down. In the 61st minute, MacBean fouled Ava Goodin, which led to a dangerous free kick for Northwestern. It capitalized on the set piece, but the goal was disallowed as Northwestern’s Brooke Miller was called for offside.

The Wildcats started to show signs of desperation as they tried to break their shutout. It looked like they were going to score on a shot by Caterina Regazzoni, but Gress made a fantastic save to keep them scoreless. Northwestern continued the high press for the next seven minutes, but it couldn’t create any dangerous opportunities to test Gress.

After surviving Northwestern’s pressure, the Nittany Lions went on the counterattack, and Kulpa had the scoring opportunity to kill the game. However, Nelson made a great save to keep Northwestern’s deficit at two before the ball went out for a corner. The Nittany Lions could not capitalize as the Wildcats cleared away the danger.

The tempo of the game slowed down for the next 10 minutes as Penn State’s lead stayed intact. In the 83rd minute, Holland Carey tried to break the shutout for the Wildcats, but her shot was blocked. However, she recovered the ball off the rebound and took another shot on target. Once again, Penn State’s defense stood tall as it cleared the ball off the line.

Northwestern continued to be aggressive on the attack as it got two more scoring opportunities, but couldn’t convert on either. With three minutes left, Carey took another shot on goal, but it was blocked. However, she recovered the ball, and Kulpa fouled her in the box, leading the referee to give a penalty to the Wildcats. Kennedy Roesch converted it to get them within one goal of tying the game with less than three minutes left.

The Wildcats played the high press for the final three minutes, but they could not create any scoring opportunities. The match came to an end with the Nittany Lions winning 2-1.

Takeaways

• This was a much-needed win for the Nittany Lions. Heading into this game, they hadn’t won three consecutive games in conference play and struggled to keep leads during this stretch. They finally managed to do that against the Wildcats and are now back on track heading into their six-day break.
• After letting in four goals against Illinois, Mackenzie Gress had a huge bounce-back performance as she had five saves in the game. Penn State’s defense followed along with her by limiting Northwestern’s offense to one goal, leading to the bounce-back win.
• While Northwestern’s offense was limited to one goal, it was very aggressive as it got 16 shots and seven on target. However, it was very inefficient, which helped Penn State survive.

What’s Next?

Penn State will have six days of rest before it continues its road trip to take on Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, at 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 4.