CARY, NC (January 12, 2022) – The North Carolina Courage today announced the signing of midfielder Frankie Tagliaferri to a one-year deal with a year option following a successful discovery challenge to acquire the midfielder from OL Reign. In exchange, OL Reign receive the rights to Alyssa Malonson, who was selected by the Courage in the 2021 NWSL Draft.
“Having this opportunity to play for the NC Courage, as well as the coaches and players there, is an absolute dream that I am beyond thankful for,” Tagliaferri said. “Playing in the NWSL, in general, is a huge honor, and has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. Thank you so much to the Courage and all the staff within the club for giving me this opportunity, I can’t wait to get to work.”
A Rutgers alum and a highly-decorated midfielder, Tagliaferri was named to the 2021 All-America First Team, the 2021 All-Region First Team, and the 2021 All-Big Ten First Team during her senior year with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Colts Neck, NJ native was also a 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, the 2021 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, and a finalist for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award. Tagliaferri collected 25 appearances last year, all of which were starts, tallying 13 goals, nine assists, 35 points, and 49 shots on goal, while also collecting nine multi-goal games over the course of her playing career at Rutgers.
Prior to transferring to Rutgers, Tagliaferri spent three seasons at Penn State, graduating earlier in the year. While with the Nittany Lions, the midfielder was a four-time Big Ten All-Conference player, named a 2020/2021 United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American, and also earned a nod for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team. Twice, she tied a Big Ten and Penn State record for four assists in a single game, and in 2020 led the Big Ten in points (29) and was second in goals (10) and assists (9).
“Adding Frankie to our roster is a great opportunity,” said Head Coach Sean Nahas. “She is a top-level young talent that has had a great career thus far through club, college, and the youth national team system, and she possesses great technical quality, game understanding, and passion for the game. We look forward to having Frankie in our environment and watching her develop and become a part of our growth here at the club.”
