The Drew University women's soccer team will kick off a new era of sorts when it opens the 2026 season under first-year Head Coach Ray Goon.
 
A veteran collegiate soccer coach who has won over 200 games, Goon takes the helm after serving as the women's soccer head coach at Division I Drexel University for 29 years.
 
The Rangers bring back 24 players from last year's squad that qualified for the Landmark Conference Championships for the fourth year in a row.
 
The team returns plenty of experience this season, as nine players who started at least nine matches are back while nine out of the 10 players who scored a goal also return.
 
Drew returns an All-Landmark Conference performer from last season in junior midfielder Kristina Lowe. A second-team selection, she posted one goal and a team-leading three assists while starting all 18 matches.
 
Sophomore forward Olivia Klein is also back after leading the team with six goals last season while junior midfielder Megan Fedish returns after posting three goals and one assist. Senior forward Sophia Lara also scored three goals a year ago while sophomore forward Gretchen Higgins netted a pair of goals last season.
 
Returning after posting one goal and one assist each last year are senior forward Maeve O'Murchu, senior midfielder Ella Reyngoudt, and junior forward Megan Jozak.
 
Junior Amel Morales and sophomore Emma Ostervich are also back at forward while junior Zoey Pipher and sophomore Maddy Rice return to the midfield. Also looking to make their mark this season will be freshman forward Evalyn Szalanczi and first-year midfielders Alessandria LaBarbera, Hannah Stahl, and Caitlin Zegler.
 
Defensively, Drew returns a three-year starting goalkeeper in senior Sarah Crowley. Last season, she posted a 4-3-3 record to go with a 1.32 goals-against average and a .690 save percentage while posting three shutouts. Crowley was the 2023 Landmark Conference Co-Rookie of the Year.
 
Junior goalie Hayden Scotti is also back after seeing action in four matches, going 1-1 while allowing just one goal over 177 minutes of play.
 
The Rangers bring back plenty of additional experience at the defensive end, including sophomores Alexandria Foley and Maddie Gottschling, who started all 18 matches a year ago. Sophomore Riley Bent also returns after starting 10 matches while adding one goal and two assists.
 
Senior defender Bianca Anghelache returns after starting all 19 matches two years ago while junior Lillian Hedrick played in 15 games last season. Providing additional depth on the back row will be seniors Georgia Cross and Nicole Czarnecki, junior Emily Wallace, sophomores Andrina Ismail and Lindsay Wittner, and freshmen Tatum Randall, Sophia Vigo, and Emily Zegler.
 
The Rangers play their season and home opener on Tuesday, when they host Manhattanville at 7:30 p.m. in a non-conference tilt. The team's Landmark Conference opener is scheduled for Sept. 26 at Goucher.