Penn State is heading into the 2022 campaign with lofty expectations following a strong 2021 season.
After losing to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament, the blue and white received a bid to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Monmouth 3-1 at home.
In its second game of the tournament, the unit faced No. 11 USC on the road.
Rising redshirt-senior Ally Schlegel potted two goals for her squad, which held a 2-1 advantage heading into the final stages of the game. However, the Trojans responded in the 86th minute and sent the game into extra time.
After a back-and-forth extra period, the game was still knotted at two, and penalty kicks were needed to see who would move on.
Luckily for the Nittany Lions, they converted on every penalty kick, advancing their way to the next round.
However, their run for a national title was cut short a game later as they fell to South Carolina 2-0.
The Nittany Lions finished 2021 with a 12-8-1 record after losing in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2021 season brought a difficult schedule for the blue and white, as it faced seven ranked opponents. It thrived against that tougher competition, though.
Coach Erica Dambach’s squad went an impressive 4-2-1 against teams in the top 25, with the biggest win coming on Sept. 9 on the road against No. 3 Virginia.
The offense was led by the aforementioned Schlegel, who netted a team-high 10 goals and was tied for a team-high 24 points with Sam Coffey.
Then-fifth-year senior Coffey tallied eight goals and eight assists, forming a two-headed monster with Schlegel.
Two players the Nittany Lions will rely on to help replace Coffey’s production are Payton Linnehan and Jordan Canniff.
Linnehan and Canniff finished third and fourth on the team in scoring, despite appearing in a limited number of games.
Linnehan played in just 11 contests, but she made her presence felt. The Massachusetts native scored seven times, while fellow rising senior Canniff suited up in 14 games and found the back of the net four times.
These two provided great scoring depth for Penn State but will need to up their production if the team wants to succeed next season.
The blue and white will also have to deal with replacing the production of versatile star Kerry Abello.
Abello played many roles throughout her time in Happy Valley and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors this past year.
It won’t be easy to replace Abello’s production and impact on the team, but everyone will need to step up to fill that void.
Penn State has one of the top goalies in the conference in Katherine Asman, who had a 12-8-1 record with a .734 save percentage and a 1.30 goals-against average. Asman will need to continue her success next season in order for Penn State to play well.
The blue and white will be an extremely young and dangerous team next campaign as it boasts the top recruiting class in the country, signing seven players and adding three transfers.
The class features three top-30 recruits, such as the top high school forward in the country, Amelia White, the third-best goalie in the nation, Mackenzie Gress, and the ninth-best forward, Ava Uribe.
These three stars along with four other incoming freshmen should make an immediate impact on the program.
The transfers Penn State also added will provide an immediate spark to the lineup. Defender Cassie Hiatt is transferring from Texas Tech, where she was named to the 2019 All-American third team.
Forward Penelope Hocking is one of the most relentless players in the nation. She leaves Southern California to join the Nittany Lions after becoming USC's all-time leading scorer by surpassing the program record of 48 career goals, a mark that had stood for 21 years.
With a mix of returning and arriving talent, Penn State is in an excellent position to capture a Big Ten title next season.
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