Rutgers closes out its nonconference slate on Sunday with Princeton coming to Yurcak Field, and the matchup brings plenty of familiarity with it. The in-state rivals will meet for the 34th time, with Rutgers holding an 18-9-6 edge, and last season’s trip to Princeton ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Scarlet Knights enter at 0-1-3 overall and 0-1-3 in Big Ten play, while Princeton arrives at 2-2-0 out of the Ivy League. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET, with the game streaming on B1G+.
Rutgers is still settling into its 2026 group, which includes 31 players overall: 22 returners and nine newcomers. Seven of those newcomers are true freshmen, and two are transfers. Mike O'Neill is in his 13th season leading the program and has taken Rutgers to the NCAA Tournament in 11 of his 12 seasons.
His staff remains largely unchanged. Lubos Ancin is the associate head coach, Ryan Nigro is an assistant coach, and Kevin Esteves has moved up from video analyst to assistant coach. Madison Richard is away on maternity leave for the season, Trish DiPaolo continues as director of operations, and Mariana Martinez has been added as the new video analyst.
Rutgers is coming off a 3-3 tie with Providence in the home opener on Sunday, a game that featured first goals of the season from Ashley Baran and Reilly McGlinn. Gabriela Gil and Lilia Calvert picked up the assists, while Olivia Bodmer matched a career best with nine saves.
Bodmer gives Rutgers a steady presence in goal, and the fifth-year keeper brings 60 games of experience with her. She reached her 200th career save last season at Northwestern, becoming the ninth player in program history to do so. Her 23 career shutouts rank tied for fifth in school history, and her 231 career saves sit eighth all-time.
The back line should also be a point of strength. All four starters return with at least 14 starts from last season, and Patricia Tsokos was one of only two players to start all 16 matches, doing so at left back. Lindsey Hailey and Julia Joseph were regulars as true freshmen at center back and right back, respectively, and Morgan Hippeli, who started 15 games last year mostly in midfield, shifted to center back in the season finale and is expected to stay there.
O'Neill’s freshman class brings help all over the field. Lilia Calvert, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania, adds midfield versatility.
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 an immediate impression in preseason.
Bea Tinoco and Dina Bojkovic are accomplished forwards from New Jersey, and Gesare Omwenga completes the group as the only defender, bringing club experience from NC Courage and a North Carolina background.
Rutgers also added two transfers: goalkeeper Iris de Rouw from St. John's and midfielder Lily Ann Phillips from Penn State. De Rouw gives the Scarlet Knights more depth in goal, while Phillips is expected to step in right away as a high-level midfielder.
Bodmer and Gabriela Gil were named the team’s captains for 2026, with both serving in that role last year alongside Allie Post. For Bodmer, it marks her third time wearing the captain’s armband.
In Other News...
Rutgers Fans Are Already Debating A Greg Schiano Backup Plan
Brian Kelly is already back around the game in a different role, but he has not closed the door on another coaching run. The former Notre Dame and LSU head coach is part of CBS Sports coverage of the 2026 college football season, and he has said he wants to stay connected to football operations while even making plans to visit spring practices and keep tabs on how the sport is evolving.
That has been enough to get Rutgers fans talking about a hypothetical backup plan if Greg Schiano ever comes under real pressure. Kelly has not been linked to the job in any official sense, but the idea has taken hold because of his background and because Scarlet Knights supporters are always quick to game out what might come next. For now, it is only a fan conversation, but it is the kind that tends to linger when a veteran coach with New Jersey ties keeps his options open. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Fans Now Have One Big Reason To Judge Keli Zinn
Keli Zinn has spent much of her first year at Rutgers taking a hard look at what was working and what needed to change across the athletic department, and that evaluation has already produced a major decision in womens basketball. She moved on from Coquese Washington and brought in Gary Redus as the new head coach, a clear sign that the Scarlet Knights athletic director is willing to make an early call when she thinks the program needs a new direction.
Zinn has also pointed to progress in football under Greg Schiano, saying recruiting and the use of resources have improved since she arrived. For Rutgers fans, the larger question now is whether those moves are the start of a broader reset or just the first visible steps in a longer rebuild, with Zinns judgment on the departments biggest pieces set to be watched closely from here. [Read more 🡒]
Keli Zinn Faces Rutgers Problem Fans Know All Too Well
When Keli Zinn arrived as Rutgers athletic director in July 2025, she inherited the kind of to-do list that can define a tenure before it really starts. The program has been working through NIL infrastructure issues, stadium conditions and debt, but Zinn has also made it clear she sees another problem as just as important: the school has not done enough to keep students connected to its athletic programs.
That part of the rebuild is now getting more attention, with plans to add staff focused on student marketing and involvement. Zinn has singled out the Rutgers Riot Squad, the most committed student fan group, as a piece of that effort, a sign that the push is not just about filling seats but about restoring some of the pride and energy around Rutgers sports that has been missing for too long. [Read more 🡒]