Penn State women’s soccer (8-6-3, 4-4-2 Big Ten) was defeated by Indiana (5-5-6, 2-3-5 Big Ten) 2-1 at Bill Armstrong Stadium on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair between both teams as both had multiple scoring opportunities. However, both teams’ goalkeepers prevented them from scoring as they combined for seven saves and neither team managed to score heading into halftime.

In the second half, Indiana broke the deadlock on a header by Bella Haggerty that came from a set piece. This gave the Hoosiers a lot of momentum throughout the game, and Paige Droner scored an insurance goal to extend Indiana’s lead to two. This goal proved to be the difference as Julia Raich broke the shutout for the Nittany Lions with three minutes left in the game, as the Hoosiers held on to the 2-1 win.

How It Happened

Penn State got the first scoring opportunity two minutes into the game on a shot by Molly Martin. This forced Indiana goalkeeper Dani Jacobsen to make a save. This dangerous opportunity came to an end when the Hoosiers cleared the ball away.

After both teams exchanged throw-ins, Indiana earned the first corner of the game in the fifth minute. It couldn’t create a scoring chance as offside was called. Five minutes later, the Nittany Lions tried to get on the board as Amelia White took a shot on target, but Jacobsen made another great save to keep the game scoreless.

The Hoosiers started to find their footing offensively and got their first shot on target on a shot by Grace Hamm. This forced Penn State goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress to make her first save of the game. Possession was traded, but in the 17th minute, Indiana got another shot on target from outside the box. However, Gress made a spectacular save, leading to an Indiana corner. It couldn’t take advantage of it and the possession ended with offside being called against the Hoosiers.

B1G TIME SAVE from 1⃣

1H | 18:19 | PSU 0, IU 0#WeAre | #PSWS pic.twitter.com/9QVRIwLF7u

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) October 19, 2025

In the 19th minute, Penn State earned its first corner of the game. Despite not creating a meaningful scoring opportunity, it earned a throw-in after Indiana cleared away the danger. After the throw-in, White took a shot on goal, but Jacobsen made her third save of the game. White continued to lead Penn State’s attack as she got her third scoring chance in the 23rd minute but this time, her shot went off target.

The Nittany Lions continued to test Jacobsen. Kaitlyn MacBean got her first scoring chance, but Jacobsen made another save to keep the game scoreless. The tempo of the game slowed down for the next seven minutes as both teams struggled to break down each other’s defense.

In the 34th minute, Indiana’s Marisa Grzesiak tried to get the Hoosiers on the board with a shot on goal. Once again, Gress made another great save for the Nittany Lions, leading to an Indiana corner. This dangerous opportunity ended when Penn State’s defense cleared the ball away.

This was the last scoring opportunity of the first half as both teams traded possession of the ball for the last 11 minutes of the half. The first half came to an end with neither team managing to break the deadlock.

The second half got underway, and Indiana replaced Jacobsen with backup goalkeeper Sally Rainey. A minute in, a free kick was awarded to the Nittany Lions. They couldn’t capitalize on it, but due to Riley Gleason’s blocked shot, Penn State earned itself a corner. No dangerous scoring opportunity came from the set piece.

The Nittany Lions started to dominate possession of the ball for the next six minutes as they earned three throw-ins, but couldn’t create a scoring opportunity during this stretch. In the 53rd minute, White was given the first yellow card of the game for unsporting behavior.

Three minutes later, the Hoosiers earned a corner kick. Maggie Ledwith played the cross into the box, and Bella Haggerty’s header got past Gress as Indiana took the 1-0 lead. Penn State tried to respond right away on a shot by MacBean, but Rainey made a save to keep Indiana’s lead intact. However, the Nittany Lions earned a corner but couldn’t test Rainey as MacBean’s shot went off target.

The Hoosiers tried to increase their lead to two on a shot by Hamm, but it went wide right. In the 66th minute, Hamm drove the ball down the left flank and played a cross into Penn State’s box. Grzesiak brought the ball down but couldn’t keep control of it. However, Lilly Burger did not clear the ball away, and on the rebound, Paige Droner hit the ball on her first touch into the back of the net. This gave the Hoosiers a two-goal lead.

The Nittany Lions started to play the high press, and a minute after being scored on, Julia Raich tried to break the shutout for them, but her shot went off target. Indiana started to slow things down for the next nine minutes by keeping the ball as much as possible, as it tried to run down the clock.

In the 76th minute, Droner tried to put the game away for the Nittany Lions, but she couldn’t do it as her shot went wide. Indiana continued to dictate possession of the ball as Penn State struggled to test Indiana’s defense for next seven minutes.

The Hoosiers had the opportunity to extend their lead to three on a shot by Ledwith, but Gress made a save to prevent that. With six minutes left, the Nittany Lions started to show signs of desperation as they had two scoring opportunities that went off target.

In the 87th minute, Penn State finally broke through as Raich capitalized on Rainey’s mistake to trim its deficit to one with three minutes to go. However, the Nittany Lions could not score another goal in the final three minutes, and the Hoosiers held on to a 2-1 victory.

Here's JR's tally to make it a one-score match late

2H | 88:16 | IU 2, PSU 1#WeAre pic.twitter.com/4Ph63yhTtc

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) October 19, 2025

Takeaways

• After both teams struggled to score in the first half, Indiana proved to be more efficient with its scoring opportunities as it had three shots on goal in the second half and it managed to score two. This proved to the difference in the win for it.
• Penn State’s inability to score came back to haunt it in this game. It had 12 shots during the game, with six going on goal. It was only able to score one goal which came from an Indiana mistake. It will need to improve its efficiency if it is going to win games in the future.
• Indiana goalkeeper Dani Jacobsen turned in a fantastic performance for the Hoosiers. Despite being taken out at the beginning of the second half, she had four saves in the first half, which prevented the Nittany Lions from taking an early lead. This gave Indiana momentum in the second half, and Sally Rainey did enough to close out the win for it.

What’s Next?

Penn State will play its final regular-season game at Jeffrey Field against Ohio State at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 26. This game will serve as its annual White Out and will be streamed on BTN+.