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ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced its 2026 women's soccer postseason honors on Tuesday afternoon with six Nittany Lions earning recognition. All six were on All-Big Ten teams, which is the most in a season since 2019, also featuring six All-Big Ten honorees.
Junior forward Aubrey Kulpa extended Penn State's streak of at least one First Team All-Big Ten selection to 33 years as the program has never had a season that did not feature one of the top players in the conference since the inaugural 1994 campaign.
Senior forward Paige Kalal and redshirt senior defender Kayleigh Herr notched Second Team All-Big Ten honors. Graduate defender Lily Boyden was a Third Team All-Big Ten selection in addition to being named the team's recipient of the Sportsmanship Award.
Freshmen Ellie Kocher and Paige Pasinski became Penn State's first All-Freshman Team selections since Kaitlyn MacBean and Amelia White during the 2022 season.
AUBREY KULPA - FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG TEN FORWARD
Kulpa has been stellar during her junior season with the Nittany Lions. She leads Penn State in points (21) and goals (eight) while ranking second in assists with five. Additionally, she paces the Nittany Lions with career highs in shots (50) and shots on goal (25). She has scored at least seven goals in all three of her seasons in the Blue & White with her eight this year matching her highest total.
Kulpa ties for seventh in the Big Ten in points and goals, is seventh in shots and ties for ninth in shots on goal. In just B1G matches, she ties for fourth in goals with six, ties for seventh in shots (33), ties for eighth in points (14) and ties for 10th in shots on goal (15).
The junior forward has a trifecta of three-point performances with her most recent in the 2-1 upset over No. 5 Michigan State on October 22.
Kulpa put together one of her top performances of the season in Penn State's upset over the Spartans. In the first half, she placed a perfect pass at the feet of a trailing Kalal who fired a one-touch shot into the back of the net. Early in the second half, Kulpa battled past pushes, shoves and jersey pulls by a Spartan defender before rifling the ball off the far post and into the net for what would be the game-winning goal.
The Cromwell, Connecticut native scored in three straight matches for the first time in her career with consecutive tallies against Iowa, USC and Purdue from September 24 to October 3.
She earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors on August 18 after a three-point outing at Notre Dame. Kulpa assisted Kalal's goal before scoring one of her own just 1:19 later in an electric string of plays that gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead at Alumni Stadium.
This is Kulpa's second postseason conference honor as she was a Third Team All-Big Ten selection a season ago. Additionally, she was named to TopDrawerSoccer's Midseason Top 100 players at No. 64 in the nation.
PAIGE KALAL - SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN MIDFIELD
Kalal is having a career year in her first season in the Blue & White following a transfer from Minnesota. She has the most points (18) and goals (six) in a season of her career as one of the top offensive contributors for Penn State.
The senior forward leads the Nittany Lions with six assists while placing second on the squad in points, goals, shots (31) and shots on goal (13). Her six assists tie for sixth in the Big Ten with her 18 points tying for 10th.
She notched two primary assists in the first half of Penn State's 4-0 victory against Indiana at Jeffrey Field to close the regular season. She set up Emma Johnson's first collegiate goal and Kocher's second.
Kalal scored the opening goal in Penn State's 2-1 triumph at No. 5 Michigan State following a service by Kulpa. It was her second straight match with a goal. She logged 90 minutes against the Spartans, her second time this season playing a full match.
She has scored all three of her penalty kick opportunities this season, proving to be automatic from the dot for the Blue & White when her number is called. Her PK goals have come against Virginia Tech, Purdue and Rutgers.
The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native stood out early for the Nittany Lions. Kalal scored the first goal of the season for Penn State in the eventual 2-2 draw against then-No. 2 Notre Dame. She tallied assists in the following two contests against West Virginia and Bucknell to make it three consecutive matches with a goal contribution to begin her tenure for the Blue & White.
KAYLEIGH HERR - SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN DEFENSE
Herr has been the anchor of Penn State's back line all season with 17 starts in 17 matches at center back for the Blue & White. In her three seasons as a Nittany Lion, the redshirt senior has never missed a match, starting all 63 possible matches.
This season, Herr has played for 1,488 minutes of a possible 1,530. She has played the full 90 minutes in 14 contests this season. She subbed off for the first time in Big Ten play in last Friday's victory against Indiana.
She has tacked on four shots this season with two on goal.
This is the first Big Ten postseason award for the Cary, North Carolina native, who has helped Penn State rank third in the Big Ten with just eight goals allowed in conference play. The team has six shutouts in 12 B1G fixtures.
LILY BOYDEN - THIRD TEAM ALL-BIG TEN DEFENSE & SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Boyden has been a mainstay in the PSU lineup with a start in all 14 matches she's played this season. She recorded four straight 90-minute matches in an undefeated stretch for Penn State against Iowa, USC, Purdue and Oregon.
The Salt Lake City, Utah native has played a key role for a Penn State defensive unit that ranks third in the Big Ten with just 13 goals allowed all season.
Boyden has one assist this season as she helped set up Kocher's first career goal against Brown.
Her All-Big Ten selection is the second postseason conference honor for the redshirt senior. She was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honoree in 2022 at Washington State.
Boyden has been an exemplary leader in her first season in Happy Valley following a transfer from UCLA, leading her to be named the team's choice for the Sportsmanship Award.
ELLIE KOCHER - BIG TEN ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM FORWARD
Kocher emerged as one of the most exciting offensive players in the Big Ten during her rookie season in the Blue & White.
The Allentown, Pennsylvania native finished the regular season with two goals and an assist, including back-to-back matches with a point against No. 24 Michigan and Indiana.
Her goal against Indiana was scored from a nearly impossible angle along the end line as she rifled it off her left foot toward the top of the net, earning her Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Her first collegiate assist against the Wolverines came following one of her trademark runs down the pitch as she blew past multiple defenders before sending a shot toward the goal that was partially stopped before Kulpa cleaned it up the score.
Kocher ranks third on the team with 25 shots and has five matches with at least three shots this season.
The forward has started eight of her 14 appearances this season.
PAIGE PASINSKI - BIG TEN ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM MIDFIELD
Pasinski became a constant presence in the Nittany Lion lineup, making 13 consecutive starts to close the season and 14 total. She logged three 90-minute matches in Big Ten action against Purdue, Rutgers and Michigan State and has not missed a match to date.
She is fifth on the team in points with six on two goals and two assists in addition to ranking third on the squad with 10 shots on goal. Pasinski is one of three Nittany Lions to record two or more goals and assists, joining Kulpa and Kalal.
The Phoenix, Arizona native notched points in her first two matches at Jeffrey Field with a goal against Bucknell and an assist against Brown.
Pasinski had a standout performance on the road against Maryland with a goal and season-high five shots with four on target. She also recorded an assist in Penn State's most recent win over Indiana last week.
She was named the No. 46 freshman in the country on TopDrawerSoccer's Midseason Top 100 Players rankings.