Penn State women's soccer preview vs. Ohio State

On Sunday, the Nittany Lions host the Buckeyes for an exciting matchup at 1 p.m. Penn State currently has a record of 10-0-2 while Ohio State comes in with a 7-3-2 record.

The Nittany Lions had a team-high of eight goals and 45 shots against West Chester early in the season after starting in a tied game with no goals against North Carolina. From there, Penn State has been on fire with lots of wins and one other tie against Michigan.

The Buckeyes started their season a little slow after winning their first game but then losing two after that. They are coming to Jeffrey Field looking to continue their win streak and make it four.

Last season, Ohio State took a 3-0 victory over Penn State. In 2021, the Buckeyes also won but in a closer match with a 1-0 victory.

Payton Linneham, Eva Alonso and Katherine Asman are the players to watch for the Nittany Lions. Linneham leads the team in goals with five and she also has four assists with 15 shots on goal. Alonso has seven assists which leads the team in that category.

Asman, a goaltender for Penn State, has started all 12 games and has only had four balls slip past her. She has 35 saves and a save percentage of 0.897. Asman is also ranked sixth in the NCAA College Women's Soccer D1 save percentage ranking.

The players to watch wearing red and white are Kailyn Dudukovich, Amanda Schlueter and Molly Pritchard. Dudukovich is the leader of the team in goals with nine and she also has four assists. Schlueter has four goals and four assists as this is only her freshman season.

Pritchard, goaltender for the Buckeyes, has had 15 goals scored on her with 41 saves. Backup goaltender, Peighton Northrup, has played in four games and has only had five saves with one goal scored on her.

Head coach of the Nittany Lions, Erica Dambach, has had an incredible coaching experience throughout her years as a coach. She arrived at Penn State in 2007 and not only has she coached this team but she also spent time with the U.S. National Team through two Olympics and a FIFA World Cup.

Dambach led the team to its first NCAA title in 2015 and it also had 15 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. She is also a two-time National Coach of the Year and five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year. Dambach continues to lead this team to success and hopes for more titles added to its name.

Lori Walker-Hock is the current head coach for Ohio State. She is currently in her 27th season with the team and has helped them win two Big Ten Conference championships. The team has made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances and Walker-Hock is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year. She hopes to coach this team to success this season and continue that success in the future.

Sunday will be a great day to watch soccer as the Nittany Lions look to stay undefeated and the Buckeyes are looking to take another win against Penn State.

Kassie Vasellas is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email kmv5506@psu.edu