Penn State women’s soccer earn slick 1-0 home win against USC

Kayleigh Herr, Aubrey Kulpa and Brooklyn Antonucci helped Penn State beat USC 1-0.

Aubrey Kulpa’s 26th-minute strike held up as Penn State fought through a slick Jeffrey Field and a physical South Carolina defense to secure a 1-0 win Sunday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions created the better chances despite difficult weather conditions, using repeated runs behind the Trojans’ backline to produce Kulpa’s fifth goal of the season. Penn State’s defense handled the rest, limiting USC’s response and protecting the one-goal lead through the final whistle.

In the end, the Nittany Lions didn’t allow any shots on goal.

From the opening minutes, as the rain fell, Penn State tested the defensive line it had seen on film. Kulpa made run after run behind USC’s backline, though she was caught offside several times in the first half.

“They were playing the exact line we expected,” head coach Erica Dambach said. “Exact line from the scouting report, the exact line from the training session.”

Penn State kept pressing. USC goalkeeper Josie Biehl saved Lily Boyden’s third-minute free kick, and the Nittany Lions earned a corner less than two minutes later.

USC generated pressure of its own, but Penn State’s backline repeatedly cleared the danger. The match grew more physical as the half wore on, and the Trojans collected two yellow cards before halftime.

The breakthrough came in the 26th minute, when Hannah Jordan found Kulpa in the box.

The junior forward drove a left-footed shot into the top-left corner for her fifth goal of the season, giving the Nittany Lions the lead.

Penn State did not let up. Emma Johnson created space for a shot later in the half, and Ellie Kocher used her speed to get behind USC’s defense, but the Nittany Lions carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.

The pressure carried into the second half. In the 53rd minute, Kulpa broke one-on-one with Biehl just outside the box, but the goalkeeper kept USC within a goal.

Four minutes later, Bella Ayscue forced another save, and Kulpa nearly reached the rebound before a USC defender intervened. Penn State continued to break through the defense, but the Trojans disrupted the final touch.

“USC’s and our game plans are both very different, and it requires something out of Aubrey Kulpa, something different, and she’s still adding that in,” Dambach said. “The discipline to stay onsides, how to work with Pasinski and Emma Johnson underneath her, that’s the next development in her game.”

While USC struggled to find an equalizer, Penn State continued springing Kocher on the break. She raced forward again in the 67th minute before defender Biddulph shut down the chance.

Biddulph had frustrated Penn State throughout the afternoon, particularly when Kocher attacked down the right. Penn State’s backline was just as difficult for the Trojans to break.

“We pride ourselves in being a unit,” defender Kayleigh Herr said. “We worked so hard before every game. We really lock in with the details.”

Penn State managed the final minutes in USC’s half, denying the Trojans a late opening and closing out the 1-0 victory.

Herr credited the shutout to a backline whose chemistry has strengthened throughout the season, especially her partnership with center back Brooklyn Antonucci.

* Luci Palacios is a student-intern at Penn State University.

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