CARLISLE, Pa. — AJ Watson (Sr., McGregor, Texas) posted 12 saves as No. 9-ranked/No. 8 position/Texas Division Champion the University of Texas overcame No. 16/No. 10 position/Mid-Atlantic Division Champion Pennsylvania State University, 6-4, in the 2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Ninth Place game at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center.
Texas – which previously placed 10th (2009), 11th (2011, 2012), 12th (2002), 13th (2007, 2016) and 15th (2019) at Nationals since 2002 – never trailed in opening up a 2-0 first quarter lead and keeping the Nittany Lions in check for the remainder of the contest.
Kennedy Hudson (Sr., Houston, Texas) and Jamie Chin (Gr., Bellevue, Wash.) broke the ice for the Longhorns in the first quarter by scoring with 5:43 and 2:30 left in the opening seven minutes.
Faith Pigeon (So., Blue Bell, Pa.) trimmed PSU’s deficit to 2-1 by denting the twine with 5:32 to go in the second quarter prior to Cameron Flanary (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) spinning in a response with 3:03 on the clock to flip the scoreboard to 3-1 in favor of the Longhorns entering the break.
Molly Goodman (So., Harleysville, Pa.) began the third quarter by pulling Penn State to within 3-2 at the 5:58 mark. However, Jordan Svatek (Fr., Helotes, Texas) and Hudson inflated Texas’ lead to 5-2 exiting the frame following tallies with 3:16 and thirty-six seconds on the clock, respectively.
In the fourth quarter, Adi Garges (Jr., Perkasie, Pa.) (5:42, penalty shot) and Pigeon (4:00) inched the Nittany Lions to within 5-4, but the Longhorns’ defense stiffened and Chin netted a man-up insurance strike with 2:47 remaining in regulation as Texas escaped with a 6-4 victory.
Penn State – which holds prior seventh (2015), eighth (2011), ninth (2018), 10th (2001, 2025), 11th (2005, 2017), 13th (2019, 2022) place finishes at Nationals – received a pair of goals from Pigeon to accompany solo strikes by Goodman and Garges. Goalkeeper Juliana Carter (So., Aurora, Ill.) turned aside seven shots in taking the loss.
Chin and Hudson led the way for Texas on offense with a pairs of markers in conjunction with solo strikes by Svatek and Flanary.
University of Texas’ Nicole Dibos (#8) & Pennsylvania State University’s Molly Goodman (#2)
Pennsylvania State University’s Faith Pigeon (#19) & University of Texas’ Jordan Svatek (#3)
