No. 24 IU women’s soccer looks to extend its two-game winning streak when the team travels to play the No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions at 4:30 p.m Thursday at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Coming off of back-to-back wins over Rutgers and Iowa, the Hoosiers, ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 for the first time since 2009, have a top 25 matchup with the Nittany Lions. Penn State won the Big Ten in two of the last three seasons, including 2019, as well as the 2015 National Championship.
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Penn State leads the all-time series 25-1-2. The Hoosiers have not defeated the Nittany Lions since their lone series victory in 1996, although the teams tied in 2006 and 2016. A win for IU would be the first in nearly 25 years, and the first ever on the road.
“Penn State has been one of the strongest teams in the league, if not the strongest for the past couple years,” senior defender Hanna Németh said.
The Nittany Lions opened the season with a 3-2 loss to Rutgers, but they have returned to their winning form, defeating Northwestern 4-1 and Illinois 2-0. The match will be Penn State’s home opener after three straight road contests to open the Nittany Lions’ season.
Outsourcing opponents 6-1 since the Rutgers loss, Penn State has had a strong offensive attack led by two goals and two assists from senior midfielder and forward Sam Coffey, as well as a .750 save percentage from redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Katherine Asman.
Head coach Erwin van Bennekom called Penn State the best and most talented in the Big Ten, but the team is confident that it can compete in an opportunity for a crucial victory in the conference race, van Bennekom said.
“I felt last year we did a good job against them and had a chance to tie it up late a couple times,” van Bennekom said. “It will be a great challenge, it will be an extra game for us. We want to play the best — I can’t wait.”
