Aubrey Kulpa, Kaitlin MacBean dominate in women’s soccer Big Ten Conference opener; Penn State 4, Maryland 0

The Penn State Nittany Lions women’s soccer team open their 2025 Big10 Conference campaign with a win. Photo: Sydney Madden

The No. 8 Penn State women’s soccer team wasted no time making a statement in their Big10 conference opener Thursday night shutting down Maryland 4-0.

Aubrey Kulpa had a career performance and Kaitlyn MacBean took over the second-half.

Penn State are 5-2-1 and 1-0 in conference play. The Maryland Terrapins are 4-4 and 0-1 in conference.

Kulpa either scored or assisted on all of the Nittany Lions points scored.

Amelia White struck first for the blue and white in the ninth minute of the first half, a strong left-foot kick put the ball in the goal with the assist from Kulpa and Bella Ayscue.

Less than a minute later, Kulpa doubled the lead with a right-foot shot into the bottom left corner, off assists from Hannah Jordan and Molly Martin.

Penn State’s pressure stayed consistent after the half.

Fifth-year Nittany Lion veteran, MacBean, netted back-to-back goals in the 50th and 53rd minutes, both with the help of Kulpa.

Riley Gleason provided an extra assist on the second tally as PSU pushed the advantage 4-0. Kulpa ended the night with a career high of three assists.

While Penn State kept pressing offensively, they also controlled Maryland’s attack.

The Terrapins managed just one shot on goal and two corner kicks, and had trouble creating chances against Penn State’s midfield pressure. Goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress collected her third shutout of the season.

Penn State head coach Erica Dambach praised both the result and the performance but also pointed to areas of growth.

“Obviously our goals on opening night of a Big Ten (matchup) and a shutout, that’s a big night for us,” she said. “Great way to open up the Big Ten slate. I thought we left a ton on the field… there were opportunities for us to be more aggressive, for our passing to be even better, and I think we’ve got to put our foot on the gas right now.”

She had special praise for MacBean, who powered through Maryland’s back line in the second half.

“When Kaitlyn puts her mind to it, and she works on both sides of the ball, she’s impossible to stop,” Dambach said. “She’s literally impossible. She’s too big and she’s too strong and too fast and so determined.”

MacBean echoed her coach’s feeling that the team is aiming for more than just results.

“We focus on Penn State soccer and how we play,” she said. “I think it’s obviously great to come out with a win, but… we definitely left some passes on the field. We gave up a few close chances, and that’s not really how we go. So I think looking at the next home game, we want to play Penn State soccer and play like us.”

Penn State (1-0 conference record) will look to carry the momentum into their next matchup when they host Nebraska on September 18. Maryland (0-1 conference record) will return home to face Indiana the same day.

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Sydney Madden is a student-intern at Penn State University.