Rutgers women’s soccer is back at Yurcak Field on Thursday night, and the home opener brings a quick test right away. The Scarlet Knights will host Boston College at 7 p.m. in the first of three straight home matches to close out the nonconference schedule, with Providence coming to Piscataway on Sunday at 2 p.m. and Princeton set for Sept. 6.
Rutgers enters at 0-1-2, while Boston College arrives at 3-0-0. The match will stream on B1G+ with Dom Savino and Glenn Crooks on the call.
There’s a familiar feel to this Rutgers group, even with a fresh mix around it. The 2026 roster includes 31 players, with 22 returners and nine newcomers.
Seven of those newcomers are true freshmen, and two came in through the transfer portal. Mike O'Neill is in his 13th season leading the program, and his track record remains steady: NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 of his 12 seasons.
His staff is largely unchanged, too. Lubos Ancin is back as associate head coach, Ryan Nigro returns as assistant coach, and Trish DiPaolo continues as director of operations. Madison Richard will be on maternity leave for the season, Kevin Esteves has moved up from video analyst to assistant coach, and Mariana Martinez has joined as the new video analyst.
Rutgers is coming off a scoreless draw at Fairfield on Sunday, a game that featured two saves from Olivia Bodmer and her second shutout of the season. Marian Dunne put two shots on goal in that match.
The back line should be a strength again. All four starters along the defense made at least 14 starts last season.
Patricia Tsokos was one of only two players to start all 16 matches a year ago, doing it from left back. Lindsey Hailey and Julia Joseph were both regulars as true freshmen, with Hailey starting 15 times at center back and Joseph starting 14 times at right back.
Morgan Hippeli started 15 games last season, mostly in midfield, but shifted to center back in the season finale and is set to stay there.
Bodmer brings a lot of mileage and production into her fifth year. She has played in 56 games and picked up her 200th career save at Northwestern last season, becoming just the ninth player in program history to reach that number. Her 23 career shutouts are tied for fifth in school history, and her 222 career saves rank eighth all-time.
The incoming freshman class gives Rutgers another layer of intrigue. Lilia Calvert, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania, adds versatility in the midfield.
Marian Dunne and Amanda Thornton arrive as strikers with scoring touch. Tommi Rose Valente, a midfielder and winger from Kearny, N.J., has already made a strong impression in preseason.
Bea Tinoco and Dina Bojkovic bring more firepower as accomplished forwards from New Jersey, while Gesare Omwenga is the lone defender in the group and comes from North Carolina with extensive club experience at NC Courage.
Rutgers also added two transfers to the mix. Goalkeeper Iris de Rouw arrives from St.
John's and gives the Knights more depth in goal. Midfielder Lily Ann Phillips comes in after her freshman season at Penn State and is expected to contribute right away.
O'Neill also named his captains for the season: Bodmer, Gabriela Gil Allie Post. Bodmer is now a three-time team captain.
In Other News...
Rutgers Is Making A Clear Bet On Its Rising Programs
Rutgers is continuing to invest in the coaches who have helped lift some of its rising programs, with athletic director Keli Zinn handing out multi-year contract extensions to Melissa Lehman, Justin Price and Rob Shutte. The moves cover womens lacrosse, rowing and mens golf, and they come after each program delivered a season that gave the athletic department reason to believe the momentum is real rather than fleeting.
Lehmans deal now runs through the 2028-29 season, while Price is secured through 2029-30 and Shutte through 2028-29. For Rutgers, the message is pretty clear: when a program shows it can climb, the school wants to make sure the coach leading that climb has every reason to stay put. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Womens Lacrosse Just Made A Staff Move That Matters
Rutgers womens lacrosse is keeping a familiar formula in place after a strong 2026 season, with head coach Melissa Lehman announcing staff changes for 2026-27 that reward the people who helped guide the program to an NCAA Tournament berth and a No. 16 finish in the IWLCA Coaches Poll. Evan Mager has been elevated to associate head coach and defensive coordinator, while TT Naslonski and Livy Rosenzweig also move into expanded roles as the staff continues to build on that momentum.
Rosenzweigs addition as co-offensive coordinator and special teams coach is especially notable given her recent success away from Rutgers, where she helped the Maryland Charm capture a WLL Championship. For the Scarlet Knights, the changes speak to continuity as much as promotion, with Lehman leaning on a group that already proved it could push the program into the national picture and now has a chance to raise the ceiling even further. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Opener Carries One Pressure Fans Cant Ignore
Rutgers opens its season with the kind of matchup that should, on paper, allow the Scarlet Knights to settle in, sort through early nerves and lean on the deeper roster that has been built to handle games like this. Home-field advantage matters here, and the expectation is that Rutgers can control stretches of play while giving fans a first look at how this group handles an opponent that may be able to stay around for portions of the night.
Still, openers have a way of turning routine plans into an examination of everything a team has been working toward, and Rutgers is carrying a little more pressure than usual into this one. The projections point to a comfortable result, but the bigger question is whether the Scarlet Knights can turn that edge into the kind of clean, convincing performance that leaves no room for doubt once the real schedule pressure starts to build. [Read more 🡒]