SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The 22nd-ranked and 10th-seeded Penn State women’s soccer team dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to the second-seeded and ninth-ranked UCLA Bruins on Monday evening, concluding their 2024 Big Ten Tournament run in the quarterfinal round from Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

Following Monday evening’s result in the Twin Cities, Penn State dropped to 12-6-3 overall and completed its run through the Big Ten Tournament at 1-1 overall, booking at least one victory in the league’s postseason tournament in every year since the 2021 campaign. PSU made its 29th appearance in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals all-time, appearing in that round in every year of the tournament’s existence. Following their win on Monday, the Bruins advanced to the semifinals of the tournament against Washington this Thursday while improving to 14-3-3 overall. In the all-time series between the two programs, UCLA took a narrow lead following the eighth-ever meeting and rose to 4-3-1 against the Blue & White since the first fixture in 2002.

On the final box score, the Bruins took home a solid margin in total shot attempts with a 16-7 differential overall, but only managed a trio of shots on goal in those opportunities. UCLA attempted a wide variety of long-range efforts on the evening, but only managed a slight 3-2 victory in the battle for on-target scoring chances. Corners were relatively even, with the narrow 5-3 edge favoring UCLA, while both programs were called for one offside violation apiece. UCLA was overtly aggressive in their defending on Monday, with the Bruins out-fouling Penn State by a 12-7 tally while picking up a pair of yellow cards against one caution for the Blue & White.

On an individual basis, Penn State’s seven total shots came from six different sources, with senior defender Mieke Schiemann leading the way with a pair of attempts toward the Bruin net. Redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean, sophomore defender Kaelyn Wolfe, junior forward Amelia White, graduate forward Rebecca Cooke and graduate midfielder Natalie Wilson rounded out the remaining five PSU shot attempts. The Nittany Lions once again saw a solid performance from their trio of back line athletes, with Schiemann, redshirt sophomore defender Kayleigh Herr and graduate defender Ginger Fontenot all playing 90 minutes for PSU in the quarterfinal affair.

Between the pipes for Penn State, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress stood watch as the last line of the defense and tallied a pair of saves against a single score allowed en route to the losing decision. Gress has played all 90 minutes for Penn State in every match played since returning to Happy Valley from the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia earlier this year. For the Bruins, goalkeeper Ryan Campbell pitched a two-save shutout and picked up the victorious decision after booking yet another complete-match effort between the posts.

The early moments of the opening stanza opened similarly to last month’s regular season meeting in Los Angeles, with the Blue & White jockeying for possession in the first few minutes of play. With both programs focused on maintaining possession and building from the back line, UCLA took advantage of some early opportunities on the offensive end and was able to rack up a total of 11 shots in the first half of play. The dam broke for the Nittany Lion back line in the 36th. UCLA managed possession down the right side of the pitch, where Ayo Oke passed the ball back to Paloma Daubert on the far edge of the penalty area. Daubert then delivered a service to the back post for Nicki Fraser, where the Big Ten Freshman of the Year timed a jump and delivered a header toward the left side of the net. Fraser’s header knocked off the left post and careened across the goal line for the only score of the contest.

After taking a 1-0 deficit into the halftime break, Penn State rebounded out of the intermission and took a dominant step forward on the offensive end. The Nittany Lions were able to match UCLA shot-for-shot in the final 45 minutes of action and also managed to out-corner the Bruins. The best quartet of chances the Blue & White mustered all evening came in the final 15 minutes of the contest, as PSU committed multiple student-athletes forward to generate dangerous attacking opportunities. Penn State attempted four of the final five shots in the match, including a shot on goal in the 78th minute that was corralled by the UCLA keeper. The Nittany Lions attempted to generate one final scoring chance with a free kick opportunity just outside the 18, but the chance sailed high and to the right for a Bruin goal kick. After a few more frantic attacking moments, time ultimately expired and UCLA came away with the 1-0 win.

SCORING SUMMARY

36′ – UCLA managed possession down the right side of the pitch, where Oke passed the ball back to Daubert on the far edge of the penalty area. Daubert then delivered a service to the back post for Fraser, where the Big Ten Freshman of the Year timed a jump and delivered a header toward the left side of the net. Fraser’s header knocked off the left post and careened across the goal line for the only score of the contest. UCLA 1, PSU 0

UP NEXT

No. 22 Penn State women’s soccer awaits its fate in the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament, as the Nittany Lions enter a bye week ahead of the Tournament Selection Show on Monday, November 11. The NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament Selection Show will stream live to a worldwide audience for free and without restrictions on NCAA.com at a time to be determined. The NCAA Tournament will begin with 32 First Round matches on the campus sites of higher-seeded teams on the weekend of Friday through Sunday, November 15 through 17.