No. 6 seed Penn State women’s soccer (9-7-3, 5-5-2 Big Ten) was eliminated by No. 3 seed UCLA (11-4-3, 7-2-3 Big Ten) in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Saturday night in Folk Field, located at Purdue, in a 2-1 loss. This is the second consecutive year that the Nittany Lions have been eliminated by the Bruins in the same stage of the Big Ten Tournament.

In a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, the Nittany Lions almost took the lead early in the first half on a shot by Kaitlyn MacBean, but her shot hit the post. However, she redeemed herself as she scored a goal in the 26th minute to give Penn State the 1-0 lead. UCLA had a lot of scoring opportunities to tie the game but could not break through Penn State’s defense before the first half came to an end.

In the second half, UCLA continued to dominate possession, and it was getting desperate for an equalizer. In the 61st minute, it finally broke through to tie the game at one on a goal by Bella Winn. After this goal, Penn State’s defense struggled to keep up with the intensity of UCLA’s offense and with 13 minutes left in the second half, a penalty was given to the Bruins. Even though they didn’t convert it, Jordan Geis was there for the rebound, and she capitalized on it to give UCLA the 2-1 lead. The Nittany Lions could not respond, and the Bruins held on to the win.

How It Happened

The first half started slow as both teams traded throw-ins for the first three minutes. In the 5th minute, Penn State won the first corner of the game but couldn’t create a meaningful scoring opportunity as UCLA’s goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor caught the ball on the cross. After that, the Bruins got their first scoring opportunity on a shot by Val Vargas, but it went wide right.

In the 7th minute, UCLA made a defensive mistake, turning the ball over to Kaitlyn MacBean, who was left with a one-on-one opportunity against Nakfoor. However, MacBean could not give the Nittany Lions the lead as her shot hit the left post. The Bruins went on the attack, and Leena Powell got the first shot on target of the game, forcing Mackenzie Gress to make the save, which led to a UCLA corner. Penn State cleared away the danger on the corner kick.

UCLA continued to press the attack, but Penn State’s defense stood tall, denying the Bruins two scoring opportunities. The tempo of the game slowed down as both teams traded possession of the ball. The Nittany Lions had the opportunity to take the lead on a shot by Riley Gleason in the 18th minute, but Nakfoor made the save to keep the game scoreless.

Penn State earned a free kick on a foul by UCLA, and it almost converted on the set piece before the ball went out of bounds for a Penn State corner. It couldn’t create a scoring opportunity. However, in the 25th minute, Julia Raich played a cross to Amelia White close to UCLA’s box and then headed the ball to a wide-open Kaitlyn MacBean. On her first touch, she hit a shot with her left foot and scored to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.

"OF COURSE IT'S MACBEAN"

1H | 27:21 | PSU 1, UCLA 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/sanDg6V5ja

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) November 2, 2025

UCLA tried to tie the game at one three minutes after MacBean’s goal on a shot by Kara Croone, but Gress made a save to keep Penn State’s lead intact. The Bruins continued to threaten to score as they piled the pressure on the Nittany Lions’ defense. For the next six minutes, they had three scoring opportunities, but all of them went off target.

In the 37th minute, UCLA had a great opportunity to tie the game on a shot by Avery Robinson, but it was blocked. Two shots came from the rebound, and Gress saved both scoring opportunities before Penn State’s defense cleared the danger away. Two minutes later, Penn State’s coaching staff was given a yellow card for dissent.

Throw-ins were exchanged between both teams, but UCLA continued to threaten to tie the game with three minutes left in the half. It had one more scoring opportunity on a shot by Croone that was blocked before the first half came to an end, with the Nittany Lions holding a 1-0 lead.

One minute into the second half and the referee went to VAR for a possible penalty in favor of Penn State, but no penalty was given. A minute later, another VAR review occurred for a possible penalty in favor of UCLA. Once again, no penalty was given by the referee. Gleason tried to extend Penn State’s lead on her shot, but it was blocked.

The Bruins started to show signs of desperation on the attack and started to put Penn State’s defense on its heels. In the next two minutes, UCLA had three chances to tie the game but couldn’t convert. In the 54th minute, the Bruins had a great scoring opportunity to tie the game on a shot by Emma Egizii, forcing Gress to make another save.

After a free kick was awarded to UCLA, it almost converted on the set piece as Payten Cooper’s shot was saved. Bella Winn was there for the rebound, but her shot went off target, leading to a Penn State goal kick. In the 57th minute, White broke past UCLA’s defense on the right flank and tested Nakfoor, forcing her to make the save. MacBean was there for the rebound, and her shot was saved again before it went out for a corner. The Bruins cleared away the danger on the corner kick.

In the 61st minute, Egizii played the ball to Oruha Hayashi, who broke past Penn State’s high line on the left flank. She then passed the ball after Gress went off her line inside Penn State’s box to a wide-open Winn, and she scored the open-netter to tie the game at one.

The Bruins continued to dominate possession of the ball as they threatened to break the deadlock. They had two scoring opportunities, but Gress was not tested. In the 74th minute, Egizii took a shot outside the box, but her shot hit the post before Gress grabbed the ball. Two minutes later, UCLA got a chance to score on a shot by Cooper, but Lilly Burger’s slide saved a goal, leading to a UCLA corner.

However, the referee called a penalty for UCLA due to a foul by Burger in the build-up to the play. Wiss took the penalty, and Gress saved it to keep this game tied. However, Penn State’s defense was not ready for the rebound, and this mistake came back to haunt it as UCLA’s Jordan Geis scored off the rebound to give the Bruins the lead with 13 minutes left in the game.

The Nittany Lions started to get aggressive on offense as they searched for an equalizer. In the 79th minute, Riley Cross tried to tie it on her shot, but it was blocked, leading to a Penn State corner. It couldn’t create a dangerous scoring opportunity as UCLA’s defense cleared away the danger. This was the only chance the Nittany Lions as the Bruins dominated possession before the game came to an end with UCLA winning 2-1.

Takeaways

• Penn State will regret not holding on to the 1-0 lead. After taking the lead going into the halftime, it couldn’t keep up with the intensity of UCLA’s offense in the second half as it got dominated in possession of the ball. This led the Bruins to turn this game on its head, leading to them winning 2-1.
• UCLA responded well after being down 1-0. Despite the defense being the catalyst, the offense showed its desperation, and it paid off as it had 26 shots with 11 going on-target. Even though it only scored two of those chances, it did enough to win this game, and its defense did enough to hold on to the win.
• Despite the loss, Mackenzie Gress’s performance should not go unnoticed, as she had 8 saves, including a saved penalty. She kept the Nittany Lions in this game, and the scoreline could’ve been much worse without her contributions.

What’s Next?

With this elimination, Penn State will wait to find out its fate in the NCAA Tournament when the selection show takes place on Monday, November 10.