2021 Big Ten Women’s Soccer All-Conference Teams/Individual Honorees
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the 2021 Women’s Soccer All-Big Ten Teams and individual honors Thursday, with Big Ten champion Rutgers earning four individual accolades, according to a vote of the conference’s 14 head coaches. The Scarlet Knights’ Frankie Tagliaferri was selected as the Midfielder of the Year, Gabby Provenzano collected Defender of the Year honors, Riley Tiernan was chosen as Freshman of the Year, and Mike O’Neill was voted Coach of the Year. In addition, Purdue’s Sarah Griffith was named Forward of the Year and Michigan State’s Lauren Kozal earned Goalkeeper of the Year accolades.
Griffith is the second Boilermaker in five seasons to be chosen Forward of the Year, following in the footsteps of 2017 recipient Maddy Williams. A senior from Naperville, Ill., Griffith leads the Big Ten this season in goals (13), goals per game (0.76), shots (82) and shots per game (4.82), while ranking second in the conference in both points (28) and points per game (1.65). During Big Ten play, she led the conference in goals (8), goals per game (0.80), points (18), points per game (1.80), shots (51) and shots per game (5.10).
One of seven Big Ten student-athletes on the preseason Hermann Trophy Watch List, Tagliaferri has made the most of her lone season at Rutgers, finishing atop the conference in points (31) and points per game (1.82), second in goals (12), goals per game (0.71) and fourth in assists (7), assists per game (0.41), shots (64) and shots per game (3.76). The Colts Neck, N.J., native is also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and is the first Scarlet Knight named the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year.
In her final season in Piscataway, Provenzano was an integral part of a Rutgers defense that has allowed just 12 goals in 17 matches and tied for second in the Big Ten with nine shutouts. Dating back to 2019, RU has also held its last 45 opponents to…
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