By Nick Kurti
Correspondent
The College’s women’s soccer team made the NCAA tournament 29 years in a row. However, they’ve missed it twice the past four seasons. 2026 is the year Coach Danny Blank and his record 38-player squad will absolutely excel.
In the 2025 season, the Lions wrapped their season 10-4-6 (6-1-2) which left them third in the New Jersey Athletic Conference behind rivals Rowan and a Montclair State team that didn't lose a game of conference play.
It was a solid team, but the College missed out on important statement wins against serious ranked competition. The team took losses to No. 17 NYU and No. 24 Johns Hopkins, and tied No. 14 Swarthmore and Stevens.
Even in some conference matches, the Lions couldn't come out victorious. They finished in 2-2 draws vs. Rowan and at Montclair State. Those four conference points are what separated first from third, and the inability to break ties in 90 minutes led to the ultimate consequence. In the 2025 NJAC semifinals, the Lions traveled to Rowan and ended 0-0, even after double overtime. Rowan went on to win the penalty shootout 3-1.
Having now missed the NCAA national championship bracket for the second time in the 2020s, the Lions are looking to bounce back quickly, and they have all the ingredients to do so. One of the biggest components is the Lion's biggest roster in a long time.
Since 2016, the College's women's soccer roster has floated between 31 and 28, with a few 33-34 player oddities here and there. For a Division III program, 38 players (23 returners and 15 rookies) looks like a staggering amount of heads to keep in play.
However, at the College’s performance in their first match of the season against Ursinus, the program showed no signs of slowing down after multiple rounds of substitution.
Freshmen like Bella Daley, Anna Guido and Hayden Tormasi have logged serious minutes, while junior Katie Naughton logged her first shot since missing her sophomore season to injury.
This has blended wonderfully with a seasoned class of returners like defender Isabella Charles and forwards junior Lexi Caruso and junior Maggie Murphy had massive contributions Tuesday. Caruso logged three assists while Murphy obtained her first ever hat trick as a Lion.
Across the rest of the state, the other two favorites are potentially slipping. Rowan comes into 2026 graduating eight seniors, leaving them without All-Americans Olivia Giordano and Julianna Giordano or All-NJAC First Team selection Lianna SanFelice.
Meanwhile, Montclair State is missing 2025 NJAC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-NJAC midfielder Emily Schuler.
For the 2026 season, Coach Blank and the Lions are seeing a favorable playing field. The College has no slouches ahead of them either; their schedule features No. 13 Swarthmore, No. 18 Rowan, and a formidable Stevens side. The Lions will head to their first ranked opponent on Saturday, Sept. 5, where they face No. 23 Penn State Harrisburg. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
