The Terps head back to College Park for two home matches.
After a three-match road trip, Maryland women’s soccer heads home for its final two games at Ludwig Field this season.
No. 20 Penn State comes to College Park on Thursday night for the first time since 2022. The Terps are 4-16 all-time against Penn State.
Thursday night’s match will kick-off at 7 p.m. and stream on Big Ten Plus.
No. 20 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-3-2, 3-2-1 Big Ten)
Penn State heads into Thursday’s match seventh in the Big Ten standings and ranked No. 20 nationally.
The Nittany Lions have struggled in Big Ten play relative to the rest of their season. Penn State went 6-1-1 in nonconference play, beating then-No. 8 Texas Tech and then-No. 19 Saint Louis. Penn State’s only nonconference loss came against then-No. 21 Virginia and its draw was with then-No. 23 Georgetown.
In Big Ten play, Penn State has beat Michigan, Northwestern and Nebraska. But the Nittany Lions lost to then-No. 5 Michigan State and then-No. 18 Iowa. The only draw came in Penn State’s last contest against Rutgers.
Players to watch
Kaitlyn MacBean, redshirt junior forward, No. 14 — MacBean leads Penn State with 11 goals and 23 points in 2024. She posted a hat trick on Aug. 29 against West Virginia and scored the lone goal against Rutgers last week.
In 2023, she recorded 10 goals and six assists, earning All-Big Ten third-team honors.
Jordan Fusco, senior midfielder, No. 11 — Fusco leads Penn State with seven assists and has tallied three goals this season. She transferred from Tennessee, where she played her first three years. In her time with the Volunteers, Fusco totaled 14 goals and 10 assists.
Aubrey Kulpa, freshman forward, No. 16 — Kulpa is a freshman from Cromwell, Connecticut, and is in her first season with Penn State. In 2024, she has three goals and two assist. She scored two goals in her only start of the season on Aug. 25 against West Chester.
Strength
Shots. Penn State has put 109 shots on target this season, the most in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are third in shots on target percentage at 46.4%, behind only Iowa and Purdue. Penn State also has the most shots in the Big Ten with 235, averaging 16.8 shots per game. Its opponents only have 147 shots on the season, for 10.5 shots per game.
Weakness
Saves. Penn State’s goalkeepers haven’t been forced to make many saves this year with 44. Despite this, Penn State ranks eighth in the Big Ten in saves and seventh with an 83% save percentage.
Three things to watch
1. Inside out. The Terps will host Penn State on Thursday night for what they call the Core Memory Classic — a match theme based on the Disney movie “Inside Out” and “Inside Out 2.”
2. The final stretch. The Terps have five matches remaining on this season and have struggled for the greater part of the campaign. Maryland has lost two straight matches and five of its last six games. The Terps have fallen to 3-7-4 after starting 3-2-3.
3. Another ranked opponent. Penn State is the third ranked opponent Maryland has faced in 2024. It is also the second consecutive ranked opponent for the Terps, as Ohio State, Maryland’s last opponent, was ranked No. 7.