Rutgers women’s soccer has filled out its 2026 staff, and Mike O’Neill has turned to a familiar New Jersey name for the final piece. Mariana Martinez is joining the program as video analyst.
Martinez, a Clifton native, arrives with a résumé that stretches across the club game, the college ranks and even international work. Her background gives Rutgers a staff addition with a broad coaching footprint and plenty of local ties.
At Player Development Academy, Martinez is the head coach for the 2017 and 2018 girls teams, while also assisting with the 2009 and 2011 ECNL PDA Blue teams. She also spent 2022 through 2025 as Girls Director and Head Coach at PDA SC Vistula in Garfield. Her club experience also includes assistant coaching stops at Cedar Stars Academy and Larchmont Mamaroneck Football Club.
Martinez has also worked in the college game. She was an assistant at NJCU in 2022 and coached at Penn State soccer camps in both 2023 and 2024.
Her experience extends overseas as well. In July and August of 2024, she assisted with the Polish National Team U12 camp.
Before moving into coaching, Martinez had a solid playing career of her own. She played at Iona from 2015-18 and served as team captain, then finished her career at Wagner in 2019. She earned a bachelor's degree in Finance from Iona in 2019 and later completed her MBA in Management from Wagner in 2020.
Rutgers is set to begin the 2026 season on Aug. 13 at Tennesse, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. on SECN+.
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