CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 9 Penn State women’s soccer prepares for its second top-10 road challenge against an ACC competitor in the 2025 campaign this Thursday, as the Nittany Lions travel south to face the Virginia Cavaliers in a 6 p.m. (ET) matchup from Klockner Stadium. The contest will air live to a national television audience via the ACC Network, with streaming available through the ESPN app.

MATCH INFORMATION

#9 PENN STATE AT #8 VIRGINIA

Thursday, September 4, 2025 | 6 p.m. (ET)

Klöckner Stadium | Charlottesville, Va.

Watch Live: ACC Network

FOLLOW THE ACTION

For fans of the Nittany Lions unable to attend Thursday night’s blockbuster in Virginia, the Nittany Lions’ nationally ranked clash and second top 10 matchup of the 2025 season will air live to a national television audience via the ACC Network with streaming available via the ESPN app. Glenn Davis and Lori Lindsey will call the action from ACC Network studios. Click the link here to be redirected to the live stream of the broadcast and sign in with credentials for access. Live stats provided by the University of Virginia and StatBroadcast are available here.

KICKIN’ IT

Despite an exemplary individual performance from sophomore defender Bella Ayscue, Penn State battled to a 1-1 draw against the James Madison Dukes on August 31 from Jeffrey Field. Ayscue mustered her second collegiate tally in the contest as well as her first of the season. Her score featured a pair of assists from redshirt senior midfielder Julia Raich and freshman midfielder Riley Cross, with the latter mustering her first collegiate point on the helper to Ayscue. Prior to Sunday’s action in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions honored six current student-athletes and one medically retired teammate in the program’s annual Senior Night. The Blue & White honored Kaitlyn MacBean, Riley Gleason, Julia Raich, Amanda Poorbaugh, Amelia White, Olivia Borgen, and former midfielder Ava Minnier in a pre-match ceremony. PSU’s senior class has contributed to a dominant run of success in Happy Valley, with all seven honorees reaching the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in every year of their respective collegiate careers.

The Blue & White will take on their second top 10 opponent of the season, as well as the team’s second top 10 ACC road challenger of the year this Thursday. PSU opened the season at then-No. 4 Duke, dropping a narrow 3-2 decision despite wielding a 2-1 advantage in the first half. Should the Nittany Lions win, it would mark the team’s first top 10 true road upset since defeating No. 3 Virginia by a 4-2 score on September 9, 2021. Penn State is led by second-year breakout star forward Aubrey Kulpa, who paces the roster in total scoring with 11 points, as well as goals scored with five. Redshirt senior midfielder Riley Gleason is off to her best single season start at PSU with a trio of helpers in the passing game, while redshirt junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress paces the Blue & White with 12 saves and a shutout on the year.

KULPA’S KILLIN’ IT

Sophomore forward Aubrey Kulpa has been the star of the show for Penn State early in the 2025 campaign, pacing the Nittany Lion roster with five goals and 11 points in addition to logging a team-high 10 shots and seven on-target attempts. Kulpa also owns an assist on the year, contributing to her team-high scoring mark. The second-year sensation ranks prominently in both the Big Ten Conference and Division I in multiple statistical categories. Kulpa owns 1.00 goals per match (first in B1G, 10th in DI), five total goals (first in B1G, 11th in DI), two match-winning goals (first in B1G, 18th in DI), 11 total points (first in B1G, 21st in DI), 2.20 points per match (first in B1G, 23rd in DI) and a 0.700 shot-on-goal percentage (first in B1G, 27th in DI). Kulpa has participated in 28 matches at the collegiate level to date, starting in six of those opportunities. In that span, she owns 28 total points split between 12 goals and four assists, all the while maintaining a dominant .625 shot-on-goal percentage in her pair of seasons at PSU. Hailing from Cromwell, Connecticut, Kulpa arrived in Happy Valley as one of Penn State’s premier attacking prospects ahead of the 2024 season. Kulpa was a 2022 Youth All-American and was named the MVP of the GA U17 National Championship after leading her team to the title in 2022.

CHALLENGING THE CAVALIERS

Under the leadership of 36-year head coaching veteran and legendary skipper Steve Swanson, the Virginia Cavaliers enter Thursday night’s bout boasting a 4-0-1 overall record through five matches. UVA also boasts the No. 8 national ranking according to the United Soccer Coaches, making them the second-highest ranked opponent PSU has faced to date. The Cavaliers opened the season on a four-match win streak with strong victories over West Virginia, Xavier, Liberty and Charlotte, with the squad fresh off a 1-1 draw against then-No. 16 Georgetown last Sunday, August 31. On an individual basis, fifth-year midfielder Lia Godrey has led the way for UVA, pacing the team in scoring with eight points, three goals and two assists. Godfrey, a native of Fleming Island, Florida, has scored 71 points in her storied career, highlighted by 20 goals and 31 helpers. Between the pipes, junior keeper Victoria Safradin has started and played all 450 minutes for the Cavaliers, allowing a single goal while making 20 saves.

STORY OF THE SERIES

Penn State and Virginia prepare to square off for the 19th time in program history in one of the most competitive all-time series in the Nittany Lion record book. Virginia owns a narrow 9-8-1 lead through the previous 18 meetings, with the series shifting momentum since the first contest in 1997. Virginia boasts victories over the Blue & White in each of the last two fixtures, toppling the Nittany Lions in the NCAA Tournament in 2022 as well as in last year’s regular season meeting from Jeffrey Field. The last Penn State victory came on September 9, 2021, when the Nittany Lions upset then-No. 3 Virginia by a 4-2 differential. UVA has won seven of the last eight matchups, returning the favor after PSU took seven of the first 10. Last year’s meeting between the Nittany Lions and Cavaliers in Happy Valley saw the Blue & White take an early 1-0 lead into the halftime intermission, but ultimately drop the result by a 2-1 tally. Then redshirt-senior Kaitlyn MacBean booked the opening score for the Nittany Lions in the 15th.