Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- moneill@scarletknights.com
- Phone:
- 732-445-7888
Head Coach Mike OāNeillĀ is in his 13th seasonĀ at the helmĀ of Rutgers womenās soccer in 2026Ā - and 27th season overall with the program. The Kearny,Ā New Jersey native previously served as the Scarlet Knightsā associate head coach from 2004-13 and has elevated Rutgers to national prominence with NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 of his 12 seasons as head coach and a pair of College Cup appearances in 2015 and 2021.Ā
The 2021 Big Ten Coach of the Year, O'Neill enters 2026 with a career record of 151-56-45. In leading the Scarlet Knights to a 2021 Big Ten title, O'Neill helped the women's soccer program become the first and only Rutgers team to win a regular season title in the Big Ten. Additionally, RU's 10-0 mark in conference play that year marked the first time since 2005 a Big Ten team posted an undefeated and untied conference season.
Through his involvement on the New Jersey club soccer scene, OāNeill has helped develop a multitude of regional and national-level players, while his club teams have won numerousĀ state, regional andĀ national championships.
In 2025, O'Neill guided RU to its 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament with an 11-5-5 record, fifth place finish in the Big Ten and a run to the Big Ten Tournament championship game, where the Scarlet Knights upset No. 1 USC in the semifinals to secure a fourth appearance in the title game under O'Neill.Ā
In 2021, O'Neill was named the Big Ten and ECAC Coach of the Year and led the reigning United Soccer Coaches Regional Coaching Staff of the Year after guidingĀ the Scarlet Knights to the first Big Ten Conference title for the program and for Rutgers, cruising to a 10-0 undefeated record in conference play. The team advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the third time since joining the league. In its 10th straight NCAA Tournament and first as a No. 1 seed, the team advanced to the College Cup for the second time and first time since 2015. Overall, a plethora of new program records were set by the squad, including total wins, goals, assists, points, winning streak, and more. The Scarlet Knights capped the year ranked No. 3, the highest rank ever for the program.Ā
O'Neill and his staff were lauded with Big Ten and regional awards following the monumental 2021 season, with O'Neill taking Big Ten and ECAC Coach of the Year honors and his staff earning United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year accolades.
In 2015, OāNeill became the first head coach in Rutgers womenās soccer history to lead the program to the NCAA Womenās College Cup. In addition, he is the first to guide the program to NCAA Tournament berths in each of his first ten seasons.
Rutgers has qualified for 13Ā consecutive NCAA Tournaments.Ā Across the last 11Ā seasons under O'Neill, the program has reached its conference semifinals five times, advancing to the championship match in four of those appearances. Throughout O'Neill's tenure at Rutgers, the program has produced 11 MAC Hermann Trophy candidate selections, 13 United Soccer Coaches (Formerly NSCAA) All-America selections, and 49Ā United Soccer Coaches All-Region honorees.
O'Neill has maintained the programās history of academic excellence and character, with 154Ā Academic All-Big Ten laurels in the last 11Ā seasons. Rutgers was named a College Womenās Team Academic Award winner by United Soccer Coaches for the 14th consecutive year in 2023-24.
The program has watched former players turn professional in the National Womenās Soccer League (NWSL). Most recently, Emily Mason was signed by the Seattle Reign in 2024. In January 2021, Amirah Ali, the programās first ever four-time All-American, was drafted 22ndĀ overall by Portland Thorns FC, becoming the eighth Scarlet Knight drafted. In 2020, Chantelle Swaby, All-Big Ten and All-Region honoree, was selected 29thĀ overall by New Jerseyās Sky Blue FC, The year prior, All-Big Ten and All-Region selection, Kenie Wright, was drafted 29th overall by Sky Blue FC. Most recently in 2023, Meagan McClelland signed a contract with the Chicago Red Stars.
MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist and two-time Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, Casey Murphy, was selected 13thĀ overall by Sky Blue FC in 2018. All-Big Ten performers Madison Tiernan and Erin Smith were selected 24th overall (Sky Blue FC) and 33rd overall (Houston Dash), respectively, in 2017.
On a proud day for the program ā Jan. 15, 2016 ā All-American defenders Erica Skroski and Brianne Reed were picked in the NWSL Draft, becoming the first two Rutgers players in history to be selected into the league. Reed went 18th overall to FC Kansas City, as Skroski was picked 23rd overall by hometown team Sky Blue FC.
Reed and Skroski emerged as national talents while āOn the Banks.ā Skroski earned NSCAA All-America Second Team laurels as a senior in 2015, with Reed securing NSCAA All-America Third Team laurels in 2014. Both players were First Team All-Big Ten players.
In a season that saw the fall campaign moved to spring 2021 due to the pandemic, Rutgers finished in the Top 3 of the Big Ten for the third consecutive season. The Scarlet Knights reached the Big Ten Semifinals for the second straight year and earned a bid to their ninth straight NCAA Tournament.
RU produced a program-record seven All-Big Ten honorees, two First Team All-Region selections, a First Team All-American, and a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist. In the classroom, the program registeredĀ a Scholar All-American and All-Region selection, nine Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, 17 Academic All-Big Ten selections, and 17 Deanās List honorees.
In 2019, Rutgers finished as Big Ten regular season runner-up for the second consecutive season, going on to reach the semifinals of the league tournament. The accolades poured in for the team, including a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, an All-American, five All-Region and six All-Big Ten honorees. Additionally, Amanda Visco was named the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient, the third Scarlet Knight from the program to be bestowed the honor.
In 2018, Rutgers solidified its highest Big Ten finish since joining the league, finishing as runner-up to the regular season title. The lineup produced seven All-Big Ten honorees, the most in program history, a third-straight Big Ten Freshman of the Year recipient, and an All-American.
Rutgers continued to rewrite the record book on numerous occasions in 2017, registering the best goals-against-average (0.267) in a single-season in Rutgers and Big Ten history. The defense claimed the NCAA team statistical titles in GAA and shutout percentage (.762), allowing a program-low and Big Ten-low six goals and posting 16 shutouts.
The Scarlet Knights began reshaping the record books in 2015, setting a new standard for the program. RU won a record 19 matches, advanced to its first College Cup in the programās fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament trip, and ended the year ranked No. 4 in the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) Coaches Poll ā its highest position ever.
The storybook season included a colossal 7-6 penalty kick shootout victory at No. 1 Virginia in the national quarterfinals to punch the teamās ticket to Cary, North Carolina.
The teamās success in 2015 hinged on its defensive greatness. RU led the NCAA in goals-against average (0.37), shutouts (19), and shutout percentage (.731). All three statistical achievements set single-season RU records.
In his first season leading the program in 2014, OāNeill and his staff guided the Scarlet Knights to a memorable inaugural campaign in the Big Ten Conference, one that included a 13-6-1 record and third consecutive NCAA Tournament trip. Rutgers topped La Salle, 2-0, in the first round at Yurcak Field to advance before being knocked out by national runner-up, Virginia, in the second round of the tourney.
OāNeill, the 2013 NSCAA Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year, is the Director of Coaching for the Players Development Academy (PDA) in Zarepath, New Jersey, one of the Top Youth Girls Clubs in the Country and two-time ECNL Club National Champions.
OāNeill has identified and developed some of the premiere players in the state and in the country through PDA and his work with ECNL. In 2020, the Kearny native was inducted into the NJ Youth Soccer (NJYS) Hall of Fame. The year prior he was inducted into the Soccer Coaches Association of New Jersey (SCANJ) Hall of Fame also for all he has done for the sport of soccer in the garden state.
A USSF āAā licensed coach who holds a KNVB Dutch International Badge, OāNeill was a member of Seton Hallās BIG EAST Championship teams in 1987 and 1988, helping the Pirates reach the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight each of those years. In 1984, OāNeill earned the Coggins Award, emblematic of the top high school player in New Jersey, while leading Kearny High School to a state championship and a number-one national ranking.
OāNeill graduated from Seton Hall University in 1990 with a bachelorās degree in business management. A native of Kearny, New Jersey, he currently resides in New Egypt with his wife, Rachel, and their children, Madelyn, Kylie and Michael.
