PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's soccer set a new program record with nine Scarlet Knights earning Big Ten Conference awards, the league announced Thursday.
 
Following the program's first Big Ten title, Frankie Tagliaferri was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, Gabby Provenzano the Big Ten Defender of the Year and Riley Tiernan the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The three player of the year awards marks the most ever in a single year for the Scarlet Knights and the first multiple top awards in single year since two in 2015.
 
Amirah Ali (First Team), Riley Tiernan (First Team), Frankie Tagliaferri (First Team), Gabby Provenzano (First Team), Becci Fluchel (Second Team), and Meagan McClelland (Third Team) all earned All-Big Ten honors. Riley Tiernan, Kylie Daigle and Kassidy Banks were selected to the All-Freshman Team, while Shea Holland was tabbed the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient for Rutgers.
 
Head Coach Mike O'Neill earned Coach of the Year accolades. In his eighth season at the helm, O'Neill guided the program in setting a plethora of records, picking up his 100^th career victory along the way.  



 
The Scarlet Knights won the outright Big Ten championship, the first in program history, with an undefeated record of 10-0 in league play. Rutgers total regular season victories of 15 marked the most ever for the program.
 
Eighteen different Scarlet Knights contributed to scoring on the year, outscoring opponent 52-12 overall and 20-6 in league play. Defensively, the team picked up nine shutouts overall and five in conference action, holding all opponents to single-digit shots on goal in each match.
  

Amirah Ali earned All-Big Ten First Team honors for the fourth straight season, earning all-conference honors for the fifth time in her career. The senior captain registered 21 points on the season with eight goals and five assists. Ali scored the game winner in the 2-0 victory at Indiana to secure the program's first ever Big Ten title. Overall, she ranks third on the Rutgers career chart with 40 career goals and fourth with 98 career points.
 
Ali is a candidate for the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the National Player of the Year, earning a spot on the list for the third straight year. The Voorhees, New Jersey, native is the program's first ever three-time All-American, adding to a resume of five All-Region, two Big Ten All-Tournament Team, Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades.
 
In the classroom, the criminal justice major is an Academic All-Big Ten and Dean's List honoree. Ali also adds 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award Finalist and First Team Selection and United Soccer Coaches College Player Award of Distinction to her list of achievements.
 

Riley Tiernan broke onto the collegiate scene with a goal in her first appearance, earning the starting nod in all 17 games and registering a team-high 10 assists on the season. The 2021 Big Ten Freshman of the Year also collected All-Big Ten First Team and Big Ten All-Freshman accolades for her performance.
 
The forward recorded a career-high three assists in the 5-1 win over Providence, adding multiple assist outings in three games. The Voorhees, New Jersey, native posted a single-game career-high with four points two times on the year. Tiernan's 10 assists rank tied for fifth on Rutgers' single-season charts.  
 
 

Frankie Tagliaferri claims her second All-Big Ten First Team nod and third all-conference honor overall. The 2021 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year led the conference with 31 total points, including 12 goals and seven assists. The NCAA active career leader in games played with 107 appearances, tying the most games ever played by a DI women's soccer player. Tagliaferri is an All-American, two-time All-Region, five-time All-Big Ten, and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
 
Tagliaferri recorded a game-high five points in the win over Providence, recording seven games with three points or more en route to surpassing 100 total career points. Her 31 single-season points ranked tied for seventh on the Rutgers charts.  The forward is a candidate for the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the National Player of the Year. The Colts Neck, New Jersey, native is also a Senior CLASS Award candidate, which recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the field.
 
In the classroom, Tagliaferri is a CoSIDA Academic All-America, CoSIDA Academic All-District, Academic All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree.
 

Gabby Provenzano picks up her second straight All-Big Ten First Team honor. The senior back added two goals and an assist on the season, bringing her career totals to five goals and three assists. She led a back line that produced nine total shutouts, holding five Big Ten opponents scoreless and all to six or less shots on goal.
 
Provenzano adds the honor to a resume of All-Region, Big Ten All-Tournament, Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and numerous Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolades. The captain is a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the field.
 
In the classroom, the sport management major is a Scholar All-America, Scholar All-Region, Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honoree. The Sergeantsville, New Jersey, native was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society.
 

Becci Fluchel brings home her second Big Ten postseason honor, being tabbed All-Big Ten Second Team. The sophomore midfielder earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors in 2020-21. This season. Fluchel posted four goals and an assist this season, going a flawless 3-for-3 in penalty kicks.
 
The Pittstown, New Jersey, native recorded a game-high two goals in the win at Maryland and the game winner at Iowa, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades for the second time of the season. Overall, Fluchel has posted four goals and four career assists.
 

Meagan McClelland earns her fourth All-Big Ten honor, having posted nine shutouts in net and five in Big Ten matchups. The senior goalkeeper notched 42 saves on the season, boosting a 0.71 goals against average on the year.
 
In the final two games of the year, McClelland recorded five saves across back-to-back shutouts to close out the Big Ten regular season undefeated, being tabbed Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week for her performance. The two-time team captain adds the honor to All-Region, Big Ten All-Freshman and 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades.
 
In the classroom, the supply chain management major is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a Chi Alpha Sigma inductee, the National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society.
 

Kylie Daigle saw action in all 17 games in her first collegiate season, recording two goals and five assists on the year. The forward recorded a career-high two goals in the win at Monmouth, the first goals of her career. The Millville, New Jersey, native earned her first career start in the win at Illinois, where RU capped a perfect season with a 3-0 shutout.  
 

Kassidy Banks started 16-of-17 in her rookie campaign, aiding the team in five shutouts in league action. The back earned Freshman of the Week honors after helping the team hold Penn State to just four shots on goal in the 2-1 win and Drexel to just five SOG in a 4-0 shutout. The Staten Island, New York, native helped hold a total of 11 opponents to four or less shots on target and four to one or less across the season.
 

Shea Holland was named the recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The award is bestowed to student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
 
Holland, a two-time team captain, saw action in 16 games for Rutgers in the historic season. The Toms River, New Jersey, native has guided Rutgers to 36 total shutouts across her career, contributing a goal and an assist in her career as a back. She adds the honor to Big Ten All-Freshman and Academic All-Big Ten accolades.
 

Under Mike O'Neill's leadership, the program became the first of any sport to bring home a Big Ten title, posting the first undefeated conference slate with a program-best 10 league victories. The Kearny, New Jersey, native joined the 100 career victories club with the 4-0 victory over Drexel on Sept. 16 of this season.
 
With his coaching staff, the program has qualified for eight consecutive Big Ten Tournaments, including five straight as a top-four seed. O'Neill and co. have led the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Tournament in seven straight seasons with him at the helm, extending a record of nine straight, 11 in the last 13 years and 15 overall.  The group led Rutgers to its first ever College Cup appearance in 2015. On staff for 22 seasons overall, O'Neill has seen RU ranked or receiving votes in the polls for 14 straight seasons, climbing as high as No. 6 this 2021 campaign.
 
O'Neill has maintained the program's history of academic excellence and character, with 98 student-athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten laurels in the last seven seasons. Rutgers was named a College Women's Team Academic Award winner by United Soccer Coaches for the 11th consecutive year in 2020-21.
 
BIG TEN HONORS
Throughout the season, Rutgers claimed 13 conference weekly awards this regular season, the most honors in a single season for the program.
 
The accolades included Offensive honors for Frankie Tagliferri (8/31) and Amirah Ali (10/26), Defensive accolades for Gabby Provenzano (9/7 & 9/28), Becci Fluchel (9/21 & 10/12) and Allison Lynch (10/5 & 10/26), Goalkeeper honors for Meagan McClelland (10/26) and Freshman recognition for Riley Tiernan (8/31, 10/12 & 10/19) and Kassidy Banks (9/21).

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