Mackenzie Lynn Gress (born June 3, 2004) is an American college soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Early life Raised in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, Gress attended Lyndhurst High School but never played prep soccer there.Hague, Jim. "Lyndhurst’s Gress signs with Penn State women’s soccer", The New York Observer, November 16, 2021. Accessed July 1, 2025. "Although she never played a minute of girls’ soccer at Lyndhurst High School, Mackenzie Gress was treated like Golden Bear royalty last week, when she signed her national letter of intent to attend Penn State University and play soccer there next fall." She played club soccer for STA Girls Academy and was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the third-best goalkeeper of the 2022 class. She committed to Penn State as a freshman.
College career Gress redshirted her first season with the Penn State Nittany Lions and made only 4 appearances as an understudy to Kat Asman in the 2023 season. She became Penn State's first-choice goalkeeper in the 2024 season, though she missed a stretch of games while at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and due to concussion protocol afterwards. She made 53 saves and kept 4 clean sheets in 13 starts, helping Penn State reach the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. She was named a team captain for the 2025 season.
International career
Gress was called up to the United States national under-14 team in 2018. She played friendlies for the United States at the under-16 and under-20 levels. She was included on tournament rosters as Teagan Wy's backup at the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship and the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, where the United States won bronze, its best result since 2012.
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