No. 8 Seed Penn State Women’s Soccer Dominates Army 3-0 In First Round Of NCAA Tournament
No. 8 seed Penn State women’s soccer (10-7-3, 5-4-2 Big Ten) shut out Army (14-6-2, 5-3-1 Patriot League) 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Jeffrey Field on Saturday night.
Penn State comfortably beat Army, going up by two goals in the first half and adding another in the second. The Nittany Lions looked dominant on both sides of the ball throughout the game. Army could not translate a Patriot League tournament victory into an NCAA Tournament run.
How It Happened
The action started quickly, as Penn State worked its way into the final third. Kaitlyn MacBean took the first shot of the game in the second minute, which was off target.
The Nittany Lions kept control of the ball, pounding the Black Knight defense. Amelia White took her first shot of the game in the seventh minute, which was wide of the goal.
Immediately following an Army goal kick, Penn State went back on the attack. Riley Cross and MacBean took back-to-back shots. Cross’s was off target, and MacBean’s was saved by Army keeper Karalyn Dail.
After four unsuccessful shots in the first eight minutes, Penn State broke the ice in minute nine. MacBean fired a shot past Dail into the back of the net to put the Nittany Lions on the board. Riley Gleason and Hannah Jordan assisted on the goal.
Penn State continued defending well, not allowing Army any chance to attack. White took her second shot of the game in the 15th minute, but Dail made the save.
In the 19th minute, White found herself in front of the goal with nobody but the keeper to beat. She fired the ball into the net, putting the Nittany Lions up 2-0. Gleason earned her second assist of the game on the score.
Big time player. Big time play.
— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) November 15, 2025
Amelia White
1H | 21:36 | PSU 2, ARMY 0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/cJXuYkAqNo
Penn State continued its offensive domination, attacking the Army defense yet again. Lilly Burger took her first shot with a header in the 26th minute, but it flew over the goal.
In the 30th minute, the Nittany Lions were awarded a penalty kick after a foul by Ragon Francy. Bella Ayscue fired the penalty shot, but Dail made the save. The ball rebounded to White, who knocked it wide of the goal.
In the 32nd minute, Olivia Borgen took her first shot of the game, the Nittany Lions’ 12th. Ditke Bang followed with a shot of her own in the 33rd minute. Both shots were off target.
After 13 unanswered shots by the Nittany Lions, Army finally took its first in the 40th minute. Maddi Woodward kicked up a long shot that Penn State keeper Mackenzie Gress easily saved.
In the last minute, the Black Knights had their best scoring chance of the first half. Brigid Duffy took back-to-back shots that were blocked by the stout Penn State defense. The clock ran out with Penn State still up 2-0.
Army got the ball to start the second half but failed to find an opening to shoot. Back on offense, MacBean launched the ball over the net in the 49th minute for the first shot of the half.
In the 55th minute, Army took a corner that Gress caught. The Black Knights got back on offense and took another corner in the 56th minute, but still could not find the net.
Julia Raich took a shot that Dail saved in the 57th minute. Penn State stayed in control and found an opening for MacBean to take her fifth shot of the game, which was off target, in the 59th minute.
In the 60th minute, the Nittany Lions got the ball back from a goal kick. Cross took her second shot of the game, which Dail saved.
The Black Knights found their first opportunity of the second half in the 63rd minute. Bella Conti fired a shot that was blocked. A second later, Army took a corner, and Conti found another opening, this time shooting the ball off target.
Play was stopped in the 64th minute when Bella Ayscue had to leave the game with an injury. The game slowed down from there with neither team finding an opportunity until the 68th minute when Cross fired a shot which was blocked by Army’s defense.
Play was stopped again in the 71st minute when Molly Martin also went down with an apparent injury. Army found an opportunity after the stoppage, with Duffy’s third shot of the game going off target.
In the 74th minute, Borgen fired an off-target shot. The Nittany Lions remained on the attack, and Bang knocked her second shot of the game into the back of the net for her first collegiate goal. White earned an assist on the score, which put Penn State up 3-0.
In the 78th minute, Gleason fired a shot that was off target. Amanda Poorbaugh replaced Gress in goal for the Nittany Lions after the shot. She was immediately tested with a shot by Sophia Henry, but she made the easy save.
Conti took her third shot of the game in the 81st minute. The Black Knights remained on the attack, and Bella Cooke took her first shot of the game, which was saved by Poorbaugh, in the 83rd minute.
Army failed to get anything going in the last minutes of play, and the game ended with Penn State comfortably on top, 3-0.
Takeaways
- Penn State completely controlled both sides of the ball in the first half. The Nittany Lion offense scored twice on 13 shots and dominated time of possession. The defense held Army to just three shots, two of which came in the last minute.
- The Nittany Lions had multiple chances to score that they did not capitalize on, including a saved penalty kick and a missed open net shot. The score could have been even further in Penn State’s favor than it was.
- Penn State took a more defensive approach in the second half but still found enough openings to score another goal. The defense remained in control, only allowing the Black Knights six shots.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will move on to face No. 1 seed Virginia in the next round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be on Thursday, November 20.
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