While men’s soccer flourished as a varsity sport at Rutgers in the 1950s and 1960s, the first women’s team did not emerge until the 1970s—and then at only the club level, with grad students as volunteer coaches. Even so, the club squad racked up impressive victories against several Division-I opponents.
By the early 1980s, there was enough talent on campus to boost the women’s squad to varsity status and, in 1984, they played their first official season. During their first game, against Kean College, the entire Rutgers men’s soccer team lined the sidelines and cheered on their female classmates as they won, 2–1. Their coach was Charlie Duccilli, an assistant to men’s coach Bob Reasso, who was a key important supporter of the women’s team. Elyse Eichman-Dolan led the team with 15 goals that year, as the Rutgers women played their way into the national rankings. Beth Schimenti became the team’s top all-around player a couple of years later, helping them qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time, in 1987.
Rutgers’ first nationally acclaimed star was goalkeeper Saskia Webber, who earned Player of the Year recognition in 1991 and 1992, and played on the national team from 1992 to 1997. During her career, the Rutgers women won the ECAC crown three years in a row. Casey Murphy followed in Webber’s footsteps, setting a school record with 45 career clean sheets (aka shutouts) later in the decade. In the early 2000s, Carli Lloyd (left) was a first-team All-American twice and became a prolific scorer for the national team, winning two Women’s World Cups and a pair of Olympic gold medals.
In 2020, Rutgers claimed its first-ever three-time first-team All-American, Amirah Ali, who helped the Scarlet Knights qualify for the NCAA Tournament twice. In 2021, Rutgers went undefeated in Big Ten play and won the conference title. Gabby Provenzano (right) captained the team and was named Big Ten Defensive player of the Year. One year later, as a rookie in the National Women’s Soccer League, she helped the Portland Thorns win the championship.