Northwestern Falls 2-1 to No. 18 Penn State

EVANSTON, Ill. — Following four consecutive draws to kick off Big Ten play, Northwestern's unbeaten conference run ended in a 2-1 loss to No. 18 Penn State at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The result marked the first home defeat of the 2025 season for the Wildcats (4-2-6, 0-1-4 Big Ten), who fell behind the Nittany Lions (6-4-2, 2-2-1 Big Ten) in the first half and couldn't recover.

In a match where Northwestern led 16-7 on shots, sophomore forward Kennedy Roesch scored the Wildcats' lone goal on an 88th minute penalty kick, extending her team-high goals tally to four.

"It had its ups and downs — we outshot them by a pretty good margin, created some good chances, had a bunch of good looks on set pieces and just couldn't punch it in," coach Michael Moynihan said of his overall thoughts on the performance.

Penn State applied early pressure on the Northwestern backline, with the visitors earning the match's first corner kick less than two minutes after kickoff. While the Wildcats forced a pair of saves out of Nittany Lion goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress in the first 10 minutes, they couldn't quite break the deadlock.

In the 12th minute, Amelia White opened the scoring for Penn State, slotting home Aubrey Culpa's assist. Less than three minutes later, the Nittany Lions nearly doubled their advantage, but first-year goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson denied a goal-bound effort on the doorstep.

After Nelson's heroics to parry the ball into the post and out of danger, the hosts enjoyed a fruitful stretch of attacking play in the ensuing half hour. First-year midfielder Keira Kemmerley possessed the 'Cats' most potent chance in the 37th minute, firing a powerful effort off a corner kick that nearly struck the back of the net.

Although Northwestern ultimately outshot Penn State 8-5 in the initial 45 minutes — including four shots on goal — the Wildcats headed into halftime trailing 1-0.

Both teams made inroads after the break, but the Nittany Lions drew a 53rd minute set piece in a dangerous area. Riley Gleason whipped in a ball from the right flank, which Molly Martin headed home to double the visiting lead to 2-0.

As the match passed the hour mark, Northwestern appeared to have grabbed a crucial goal to halve the deficit. However, senior defender Brooke Miller was deemed to have received the ball in an offside position, which wiped a potential Kemmerley conversion off the board.

With just over 25 minutes remaining, senior midfielder Caterina Regazzoni nearly capitalized off another set piece, but Gress' kick save preserved the shutout.

In the 88th minute, the referee pointed to the penalty spot after a Penn State foul in the box. Roesch coolly fired her strike into the bottom left corner to set up a tense closing stretch, but the match ultimately ended in a 2-1 result.

"We're definitely a team that has a lot of fight, so we expect that from them," Moynihan said. "That's something we can certainly build on and hopefully it fuels them for future contests. The Big Ten is incredibly tight, and every game is a battle."

The Wildcats will return to action at home against Nebraska on Sunday, October 5. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. CT with streaming on B1G+.

Northwestern Falls 2-1 to No. 18 Penn State

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Team Stats

Kennedy Roesch

Holland Carey

Keira Kemmerley

Megan Norkett

Players Mentioned

Keira Kemmerley

Brooke Miller

Nyamma Nelson

Caterina Regazzoni

Kennedy Roesch

Northwestern University Athletics