UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eight Penn State women's soccer players have been named to respective All-Big Ten teams announced by the league today. Redshirt Freshman Ally Schlegel highlighted the selections as she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
NITTANY LIONS ALL-BIG TEN SELECTIONS
First Team
Ally Schlegel
Kaleigh Riehl
Sam Coffey
Kerry Abello
Second Team
Frankie Tagliaferri
Third Team
Ellie Jean
All-Freshman Team
Ally Schlegel
Payton Linnehan
Cori Dyke
Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
Ellie Jean
Schlegel was named to the All-Big Ten first team and the Big Ten All-Freshman Team following her breakout freshman campaign. Schlegel tied for the Big Ten lead with 11 goals and 26 points. Schlegel scored in six-consecutive games during the 2019 season. Schlegel tallied five goals and three assists against Big Ten competition this season. The last Nittany Lion to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year was Emily Ogle in 2014.
Senior Kaleigh Riehl and juniors Kerry Abello and Sam Coffey were also named to the All-Big Ten first team.
Riehl earns her fourth All-Big Ten postseason honor of her career. Riehl was a second team All-Big Ten selection in both 2015 and 2017. In 2018, Riehl was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a first team All-Big Ten Selection. Also in 2018, Riehl was a first team All-America selection, a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American second team selection and a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist. Riehl leads NCAA Division I with 95 career games played, starting every game in her career. Riehl was a key member of the Nittany Lions first NCAA national championship in 2015, earning All-Tournament team plaudits.
Junior Sam Coffey earns her third all-conference honor of her career. Coffey was awarded two ACC All-Conference honors while at Boston College. Coffey picked up first team All-Big Ten honors after tallying six goals and seven assists in her first season in Happy Valley. Coffey finished tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 19 points and tied for fourth with her seven assists. In 2018, Coffey was named a first team All-American, ACC Midfielder of the Year and a MAC Hermann trophy semifinalist.
Junior Kerry Abello collects the second All-Big Ten honor of her career. In 2018, Abello earned third team All-Big Ten distinctions. Abello was also named to the All-North Region third team in 2018. This season, Abello netted seven goals and dished out three assists. Abello is also a tremendous student as she was named a Google Cloud Academic All-American and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2018.
Junior Frankie Tagliaferri earns the third All-Big Ten award of her career. In 2017, Tagliaferri was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and earned first team honors in 2019. Tagliaferri tied for the Big Ten lead with nine assists on the season. Earlier in 2019 against Michigan State, Tagliaferri tied a Big Ten and school record with four assists in a single game. Tagliaferri was named to the MAC Hermann trophy watch list during the preseason.
Redshirt senior Ellie Jean has been a staple on defense for the Nittany Lions since 2015. A member of the 2015 NCAA national championship team, Jean has appeared in 94 of a possible 95 games in her career. She is second only to teammate Kaleigh Riehl in NCAA Division I in active career appearances. Jean was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2015 and named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team in 2018. Jean is also a two-time honoree on the Academic All-Big Ten list. Along with being named to the All-Big Ten third team, Jean was also honored with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Freshman Payton Linnehan netted four goals and added one assist in her first season at Penn State. Linnehan scored game-winning goals against Michigan State and Northwestern during the 2019 campaign. Linnehan has appeared in all 19 games as a true freshman, making 15 starts.
Freshman Cori Dyke has been a fixture in the midfield since the opening kickoff for the Nittany Lions in 2019. The freshman from Littleton, Colorado has started all 19 games and recorded her first-career point on an assist against Hofstra in the Nittany Lions 6-0 win.
The four first-team selections for Penn State are the most since 2011 (Maya Hayes, Lexi Marton, Christine Nairn and Ali Schaefer).
