# 2020 Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer team

The 2020 Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I women's soccer season and the 2020 Big Ten Conference women's soccer season. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 fall season was postponed to the spring, and began on February 19, 2021. It was the program's 27th season fielding a women's varsity soccer team, and their 27th season in the Big Ten Conference. The 2020 season is Erica Dambach's 14th year at the helm.

## Background

The 2020 season is the Nittany Lions' 27th season as a varsity soccer program, and their 27th season playing in the Big Ten Conference. The team is led by 14th year head coach, Erica Dambach, who had previously served as a head coach for the Harvard.

## Player movement
### Departures

| Name | Number | Position | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Shelby Craft | 3 | DF | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | Freshman | Frisco, TX | Transferred to Lipscomb. |

## Preseason
### Preseason Big Ten poll

Penn State was predicted to finish 1st in the Big Ten Conference.
Coaches' Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Penn State |
| 2 | Wisconsin |
| 3 | Michigan |
| 4 | Rutgers |
| 5 | Ohio State |
| 6 | Iowa |
| 7 | Northwestern |
| 8 | Indiana |
| 9 | Nebraska |
| 10 | Illinois |
| 11 | Purdue |
| 12 | Maryland |
| 13 | Minnesota |
| 14 | Michigan State |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of May 1, 2021
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| 0 | GK | Katie Evans | United States |
| 1 | GK | Julia Dohle | United States |
| 2 | MF | Kerry Abello (captain) | United States |
| 3 | MF | Olivia Damico | United States |
| 4 | DF | Caitlin Haislip | United States |
| 5 | MF | Cori Dyke | United States |
| 6 | DF | Kate Wiesner | United States |
| 8 | FW | Kristin Schnurr | United States |
| 9 | FW | Rachel Wasserman | United States |
| 10 | MF | Maddie Myers | United States |
| 12 | MF | Payton Linnehan | United States |
| 14 | MF | Kaitlyn Macbean | United States |
| 15 | DF | Devon Olive | United States |
| 16 | FW | Ellie Wheeler | United States |
| 17 | MF | Sam Coffey (captain) | United States |
| 19 | MF | Frankie Tagliaferri (captain) | United States |
| 20 | FW | Angela Aguero | United States |
| 22 | MF | Jordan Canniff | United States |
| 23 | DF | Eva Alonso | Spain |
| 24 | FW | Elle Kershner | United States |
| 26 | GK | Katherine Asman | United States |
| 27 | MF | Jilly Shimkin | United States |
| 32 | MF | Natalie Wilson | United States |
| 33 | DF | Anna Carson | United States |
| 34 | FW | Ally Schlegel | United States |

### Personnel

Front office :
| Athletic Director | Sandy Barbour |
| Deputy Director of Athletics | Lynn Holleran |
| Deputy Director of Athletics | Scott Sidwell |
| Coaching staff ||
| Head coach | Erica Dambach |
| Assistant coach | Ann Cook |
| Assistant coach | Tim Wassell |
| Assistant coach | Jack Rushworth |
Last updated: January 1, 2021 Source: Penn State Athletics

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Team events | Opponent events | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Regular season ||||||||
| February 17 12:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Rutgers | L 3–2 | 0–1–0 (0–1–0) | K. Schnurr 1' P. Linnehan 72' | S. Kroeger 61' A. Ali 74' A. Ali 86' | Iron Peaks Sports & Events (0) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 25 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Northwestern | W 4–1 | 1–1–0 (1–1–0) | K. Schnurr 16' S. Coffey 58' (pen.) A. Schlegel 64' N. Wilson 72' A. Schlegel 77' | J. Aulicino 39' | Ryan Fieldhouse (1) Evanston, IL |
| February 28 11:00 a.m., BTN+ | | at Illinois | W 2–0 | 2–1–0 (2–1–0) | S. Coffey 3' A. Schlegel 16' F. Tagliaferri 52' | S. Sample 42' | Illinois Soccer & Track Stadium (0) Champaign, IL |
| March 4 4:30 p.m., BTN+ | No. 13 | No. 24 Indiana | W 2–1 | 3–1–0 (3–1–0) | F. Tagliaferri 53' S. Coffey 60' 88' | H. Nemeth 52' | Holuba Hall (100) State College, PA |
| March 7 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | No. 13 | Michigan State | W 3–1 | 4–1–0 (4–1–0) | A. Schlegel 7' F. Tagliaferri 35' E. Kershner 73' | G. Wahlberg 26' G. Wahlberg 87' | Holuba Hall (100) State College, PA |
| March 13 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | No. 10 | at Ohio State | T 2–2 | 4–1–1 (4–1–1) | S. Coffey 48' Own Goal 66' E. Wheeler 93' K. Abello 109' | K. Fischer 26' K. Fischer 64' A. Baumbick 66' K. Fischer 67' | Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium (0) Columbus, OH |
| March 18 5:30 p.m., BTN | No. 11 | Minnesota | W 3–0 | 5–1–1 (5–1–1) | A. Schlegel 18' A. Schlegel 22' S. Coffey 73' | none | Jeffrey Field (158) State College, PA |
| March 21 12:00 p.m., BTN | No. 11 | Michigan | W 4–1 | 6–1–1 (6–1–1) | S. Coffey 11' A. Schlegel 20' P. Linnehan 29' E. Wheeler 30' P. Linnehan 62' | L. Farkas 11' H. Beall 11' L. Farkas 53' | Jeffrey Field (233) State College, PA |
| March 25 5:00 p.m., BTN+ | No. 9 | at Iowa | W 1–0 | 7–1–1 (7–1–1) | A. Schlegel 20' D. Olive 51' | D. Senkowski 69' | Iowa Soccer Complex (65) Iowa City, IA |
| March 28 12:35 p.m., BTN+ | No. 9 | at Nebraska | W 3–0 | 8–1–1 (8–1–1) | F. Tagliaferri 3' R. Wasserman 7' D. Olive 24' E. Kershner 60' | N. Cooke 15' | Hibner Stadium (270) Lincoln, NE |
| April 3 12:00 p.m., BTN+ | No. 6 | Maryland | W 6–0 | 9–1–1 (9–1–1) | P. Linnehan 2' F. Tagliaferri 9' R. Wasserman 16' A. Schlegel 47' F. Tagliaferri 50' A. Schlegel 54' | A. Broadbent 72' | Jeffrey Field (307) State College, PA |
| Big Ten Tournament ||||||||
| April 11 2:00 p.m., BTN | No. 4 | Indiana Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal | W 2–1 | 10–1–1 (9–1–1) | A. Schlegel 11' F. Tagliaferri 22' A. Schlegel 59' | A. Bennett 73' M. Forbes 82' | Jeffrey Field (258) State College, PA |
| April 15 5:00 p.m., BTN+ | No. 4 | Iowa Big Ten Tournament Semifinal | L 1–0 | 10–2–1 (9–1–1) | none | S. Cary 18' M. Ingles 45' S. Cary 18' 61' S. Wheaton 69' | Jeffrey Field (1) State College, PA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||||
| April 28 7:00 p.m., GOHEELSTV | No. 9 | Alabama State NCAA Tournament First Round | W 5–0 | 11–2–1 (9–1–1) | F. Tagliaferri 17' F. Tagliaferri 25' P. Linnehan 27' O. Damico 32' Own Goal 32' | none | WakeMed Soccer Park (100) Cary, NC |
| May 1 3:00 p.m., GOHEELSTV | No. 9 | No. 16 Vanderbilt NCAA Tournament Second Round | W 2–0 | 12–2–1 (9–1–1) | K. Schnurr 62' E. Alonso 73' | H. Hopkins 88' | WakeMed Soccer Park (145) Cary, NC |
| May 5 3:00 p.m., GOHEELSTV | No. 9 | No. 1 Florida State NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | L 3–1 | 12–3–1 (9–1–1) | F. Tagliaferri 19' | K. Lynch 30' C. Robbins 60' G. Carle 68' | WakeMed Soccer Park (185) Cary, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||||
Source:Penn State Athletics

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Final |
| United Soccer | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 13 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 11 |
| Top Drawer Soccer | 13 | 13 | 12 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 11 |
| CollegeSoccerNews.com | 17 | 17 | 17 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 |