KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Penn State women’s soccer program landed a pair of student-athletes on the United Soccer Coaches 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Defenders to Watch list according to a release from that organization Tuesday morning.

Penn State’s pair of selections to the Defenders to Watch list marked the first official preseason accolades secured by the Nittany Lions in 2025, with Ayscue and Wolfe both returning following productive seasons in the Blue & White a year ago which culminated in the program’s second consecutive national quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Over the course of the offseason, both Ayscue and Wolfe were selected to represent the United States in their respective age demographics within the U.S. Women’s Youth National Team system. Ayscue was selected to play with the U19 group during a training camp this March and also took part in the 2025 CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championship alongside teammate Kealey Titmuss earlier this summer. Wolfe, meanwhile, represented the Stars & Stripes with the U.S. U20 Women’s Youth National Team at the organization’s training camp this spring.

Hailing from Apex, North Carolina, Ayscue was a crucial part of Penn State’s success in her freshman season, with the then-rookie appearing in all 25 matches while logging 11 starts in the latter half of the campaign. She primarily played in a wing back role, amassing 947 minutes played during her inaugural run through collegiate soccer. Ayscue finished her first season with seven total points split between one goal in the NCAA Tournament against Stony Brook and five total assists. On the attacking end, she logged 12 total shots with five on-target attempts. Her tally against the Seawolves in the opening round of the national postseason went in the scorebook as the match-winning score, the first such tally of her career. Additionally, she helped steer PSU to 11 shutouts as a contributor on the back line.

Wolfe, a native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, expanded on a productive rookie season with a strong sophomore campaign in 2024, appearing in 24 of Penn State’s 25 matches over the course of the season, making a single-season career-high seven starts in the process. She tallied her first collegiate goal in the 2024 season as well, adding an assist along the way to finish with three points on the year. Wolfe attempted 10 shots and placed seven efforts on goal while playing the most minutes in a single season in her career, amassing 1,102 minutes of time on the pitch primarily in an outside back role. As a freshman in 2023, Wolfe added a total of 17 appearances and four starts while tallying 658 minutes of effort. She played an instrumental role in Penn State’s dominant defensive season that year, leading the Big Ten Conference in goals-against average playing on the left flank of the Nittany Lion back line.

Last season, the Nittany Lions advanced to the National Quarterfinals for the second year in a row, extended the nation’s longest streak of consecutive Sweet 16 appearances to eight-straight, secured the program’s 30th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and booked the program’s 31st consecutive season with at least 10 victories, the second-longest stretch of that nature in women’s college soccer. The Blue & White return six starters from last year’s Elite Eight run, including goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress, defenders Kayleigh Herr and Bella Ayscue, midfielder Molly Martin, and forwards Kaitlyn MacBean and Amelia White. Penn State additionally boasts the nation’s fifth-ranked recruiting class and strongest signing group in the Big Ten Conference per TopDrawerSoccer’s July release. With Ayscue and Wolfe anchoring the back line, PSU will open its 2025 season in less than two weeks’ time, with a 7 p.m. (ET) kickoff scheduled against the Duke Blue Devils on Thursday, August 14, from Koskinen Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.