Maryland women’s soccer looking for rare win over No. 8 Penn State in conference play opener

After suffering back-to-back disappointing losses and a week off, Maryland women’s soccer returns to the pitch on Thursday to begin conference play. 

The Terps will open their Big Ten slate with a significant challenge as they travel to University Park, Pa., for a match against the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions, an opponent whom they have had minimal success against. Maryland is 4-17 against Penn State in the all-time series.

In Maryland’s latest outing – a 1-0 loss to the James Madison Dukes – its offense went quiet. The Terps struggled to develop any scoring opportunities and mustered only two shots to James Madison’s 15. 

Redshirt junior forward Kelsey Smith took Maryland’s only shot on goal. Smith was the main spark in any offense that Maryland had in the evening, driving the ball down the field, taking multiple corner kicks and sending crosses to try to set her teammates up to score. 

Maryland’s defense was able to stand strong through the vast majority of the game, though. 

The Terps faced one of their toughest offensive playmakers yet this season in former Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Ginny Lackey, and they only allowed her one shot, which was a goal. 

The goal was a product of well-orchestrated passing by JMU, which allowed Lackey to take the easy soft-touch shot. 

Maryland allowed six shots on goal, with goalkeeper Faith Luckey saving five. 

The redshirt sophomore once again was a brick wall in front of the net in her first year as a starter, making multiple diving and all-out effort saves.

“Faith is a good example of somebody who has been quietly preparing for her opportunity,” Maryland head coach Michael Marchiano said. “It’s the most important thing when players feel reliability for the goalkeeper that’s behind them.”

Penn State enters Thursday’s match with an overall record of 4-2-1 while being the second-highest ranked team in the Big Ten, per the United Soccer Coaches Poll. 

Despite a 1-0 loss to the then-No. 8 Virginia Cavaliers last week, their performance in that match and a 3-0 win over Liberty bumped the Nittany Lions up a spot in the national rankings 

While the Nittany Lions have outscored their opponents 15-7 on the season, they have surprisingly been outshot 92-68. However, Penn State has been quite efficient with its shot selection, as 33 of its 68 shots have been on goal. 

Sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa and redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason highlight the Nittany Lions’ offense. 

Kulpa is currently tied for first in the Big Ten in points with 13 and goals with six. She has had a pair of two-goal performances this year against Saint Louis and Santa Clara, while also netting one in Penn State’s most recent match against Liberty.

Gleason is currently tied for the Big Ten lead in assists made with five, already marking a new career best. While she has yet to score a goal so far this season, she has been effective in finding and setting up her teammates.

On the other end of the pitch, Penn State’s goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress has 18 saves on the year with a 72% save rate. 

Penn State is led by longtime head coach Erica Dambach, who has compiled a remarkable 289-99-32 record and won the 2015 NCAA Championship during her 18-year coaching career with the Nittany Lions.

Dambach has led the Nittany Lions to many dominating performances over the Terps throughout her tenure, including a  5-0 victory in the team’s meeting last year.

The Terps will look to Smith to lead the charge and help get their offense back on track. She leads the team in various offensive statistical categories with eight points, three goals, and two assists. 

Smith demonstrated her speed and play-making abilities against JMU this past week and will look to her teammates to step up in Thursday’s match. 

Maryland only had one win throughout conference play in 2024, finishing 1-8-2 in Big Ten matchups. 

“Our group is together and the morale is positive, but we are also very aware of the challenges that lie ahead, and we need to roll up our sleeves and prepare to be tested,” Marchiano said.