ITHACA, N.Y. — Entering his sixth season leading the Cornell women's soccer program, Rob Ferguson says there's two words that best describes his roster heading into 2026: bought in.

"When I think of the roster this year, the words that come to mind are bought in," Ferguson said. "I don't think there's any exceptions to that, which is not that common with a roster of 30-plus players."

Now in year two of a system installed before last season, Ferguson said he's pleased with how the Big Red have taken to it and the culture the team's senior class has built around it.

"I don't think I've seen a group as fun, as relaxed, as focused, as clear in how important this is in their eyes as this group of seniors," Ferguson said. "There's been a lot of growth from certain individuals in getting to the point where they realize this is the way you've got to do it on a team level. That's what team-first means in terms of who we want to be and how we want to play."

Cornell, which has adopted the mantra "HWT" for the 2026 season, is looking to build on a 2025 campaign that produced a 5-7-4 overall record, the program's most wins since 2016, despite finishing 2-5-0 in Ivy League play for the second straight season and the third time in the last four seasons. The Big Red return 12 letterwinners from last year but must replace a graduating class of 10 seniors, including a starting goalkeeper who played the final seven matches of the season, both primary center backs, and three central midfielders, all of whom logged heavy minutes and were considered by Ferguson as "a big spine through the team."

"We're young in that regard," Ferguson said, "but I don't think we're young in terms of quality. I don't think we're young in terms of experience collectively."

GOALKEEPERS
Letterwinners returning (1): Samantha Qureshey
Other returners (1): Naomi Glassberg
Newcomers (2): Ellie Gudusky, Sofia Kerrigan

With the graduation of Natalie Medugno '26, sophomore Samantha Qureshey, who started in Cornell's first nine matches last season, including the Ivy League opener, enters the season as the presumed No. 1 keeper. But Ferguson quickly noted that the job is far from settled, especially this early into the season.

"I think everything is an open competition, always," Ferguson said. "I just think that's a healthy way to operate. Sam came in as the number one and looked excellent in training, but it's an open competition."

Ferguson pointed to real growth from senior Naomi Glassberg, whose ball security and handling have improved significantly in the offseason, an area he said she identified as a priority.

"She has come back and her overall ball security and handling have been improved," Ferguson said. "Naomi is phenomenal one-on-one. She's phenomenal coming out. She is bravery in a bottle in those moments."

The two freshman goalkeepers, Ellie Gudusky and Sofia Kerrigan, have also pushed their way into the mix in preseason, according to Ferguson, who praised their shot-stopping, handling and communication, while noting the position remains fluid.
 

DEFENDERS
Letterwinners returning (3): Raya Leikin, Amanda Polyniak, Kayla Ristianto
Other returners (4): Isabel Chapman, Madison Guiry, Jane Offit, Madeline Park
Newcomers (2): Ella Pfeiffer, Camryn Savig

Replacing four-year starter Gaby Gonzalez '26 and fellow center back Izzy Scott '26 was always going to be one of the offseason's biggest questions. Ferguson said the answer has been a deliberate emphasis on adding speed to the back line, something the program hasn't had at that level since Cecily Pokigo '25 graduated following the 2024 season.

"Gab and Izzy were great last year, we knew this would be a gap to fill," Ferguson said. "One of the things we really wanted to do with our back line was really focus on recruiting an element of speed. Chappy [Isabel Chapman] is a very good front-foot, ball-winning center back — very brave, very good in the air. Cam [Savig] is a freshman who looks like a center back — very good in the air, very good in the challenge, very composed. In Madison [Guiry] and Jane [Offit], we have what we haven't had since Pokes, which is legitimate pace at the back."

At the wide back spots, senior captain Kayla Ristianto, junior Amanda Polyniak, and sophomore Raya Leikin all return after rotating through the role a season ago, joined by newcomer Ella Pfeiffer. Ferguson called it the deepest position on the roster.

"We've got four players for two positions, and they've done so well over the last couple of years," Ferguson said. "We've got a freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior; that's the kind of rhythm and flow you want in your roster."
 

MIDFIELDERS
Letterwinners returning (4): Emily Gibbons, Ella Koschineg, Ivy Tolbert, Andrea Wilson
Other returners (2): Chloe Benik, Ava Jung
Newcomers (2): Bella Grabowski, Kyleena Xin

Despite the position group's size on paper, Ferguson stopped short of calling the midfield the roster's deepest position, reserving that label for the wide backs, while still praising the quality there as among the best he's had at Cornell.

"I think the midfield is very, very good — dynamic," Ferguson said. "The quality may be the best we've ever had in the midfield. But I would hesitate to call it deep enough today, because I'd like to know that if we lose all three [starters] to injury, that we have three ready made replacements. I know today we have a group of five players who are ready to go in CM, and so we are very close to what we want."

Junior Ella Koschineg's move back into the midfield mix gives Ferguson a rare luxury, he said, a player capable of playing either a holding role or further up the field.

"Koschy is such a talented soccer player — technically and tactically talented, physically strong and athletic," Ferguson said. "I think she's an incredibly effective 6, but she's also an incredibly effective 10. Ivy [Tolbert] is a very, very effective 6 — that's her position. I think Gibbo [Emily Gibbons], Dre [Andrea Wilson] and Lauren [DiPierri] are all suited to the 10."

Ferguson singled out Wilson's development, noting she tied the program's yo-yo fitness test as a freshman last year before breaking it this year.

"Dre was a young player who really impacted last season. She's shown us in the offseason and this season that she's lights out, very dangerous, very effective, very fit."
 

FORWARDS
Letterwinners returning (4): Sydney Allen, Brooke Brown, Alanna Colbert, Lauren DiPierri
Other returners (3): Jessica Alessi, Evelyn Chudowsky, Estelle Jarrells
Newcomers (3): Sofía Menéndez, Dylan Steinberg, Hayes Wheeler

Ferguson pointed to scoring as an area the program has to "double down on" going forward and said the incoming freshman class is part of a multi-year plan to address it, even as this year's group leans on returning talent to bridge the gap.

"We've identified forwards and goal scorers as an area we have to do better at," Ferguson said. "You look at our biggest problem over my time here, it's been scoring goals. Last year we created pretty well; we should have scored more."

Seniors Alanna Colbert and Sydney Allen both battling injury this preseason, leaving Brooke Brown as the lone returning senior forward to have a full pre-season, Ferguson said the door is open for other options to see early minutes, including sophomore Jessica Alessi.

"Jess did very well in the offseason. She's powerful, she's fast, she can strike a ball. She's got an eye for goal. As a sophomore, I'm expecting her to take a step up, take on more responsibility."

Of the freshman, Ferguson said Hayes Wheeler has stood out early as a true center forward.

"She's been superb, looked fit and strong, and she'll work hard," Ferguson said. "Her touch is good, her movement's good, she can strike a ball. We're very excited about what Hayes has shown us."

Ferguson also praised Dylan Steinberg's pace and left-footed profile as a different look up top, and said Sofía Menéndez, who has been playing in Spain, brings a more tactical, controlled style he expects her to grow into.

DiPierri is a player who gives the staff options, as she can certainly push forward onto the front line if needed while the group works back to full health.

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
Cornell begins the 2026 campaign with four consecutive home games, the longest season-opening homestand in program history. Following its matches against St. Bonaventure on Thursday and Boston College on Sunday, the Big Red will welcome Lafayette and Pitt to Berman Field on Aug. 27 and Aug. 31, respectively, before embarking on a four-match road trip with contests at Colgate (Sept. 3), Kent State (Sept. 6), Army (Sept. 10), and Binghamton (Sept. 13).

Following a week break, the Big Red will jump into Ivy League play, beginning with a contest against Yale during Alumnae Weekend on Sept. 26. After road contests at Harvard (Oct. 3) and Columbia (Oct. 10), the Big Red will play four of their final five matches at home, which includes three straight home matches against Holy Cross (Oct. 13), Princeton (Oct. 17), and Penn (Oct. 24). Before its regular-season finale against Dartmouth (Nov. 7), the Big Red will travel to Brown (Oct. 31).

Ferguson said the early homestand, which includes matches against ACC opponents Boston College and Pitt, wasn't scheduled by design, but comes with a built-in benefit given the health of the roster entering the year.

"It gives us the opportunity to not travel, not make injuries worse," Ferguson said. "We'd love to get off to a really good, strong start. But these four games are no more important than the four that come after, and none of those eight games are as important as the seven that come after that."

The four-match road trip that follows carries extra weight, Ferguson said, after Cornell finally broke a long-standing road struggle a season ago.

"Last year, for the first time, we finally pushed past that," Ferguson said. "We won two Ivy League games on the road, which we hadn't done in a long, long time. There's definitely an upside to away games, we get to dial in the focus in a different way you don't always get at home. We're going to try and win those games and build on what we did last season, to make sure that hurdle is well and truly behind us going into the Ivy League season."