Oct. 11, 2011

BIG EAST Weekly Release

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Sophomore goalkeeper Jami Kranich (Hamden, Conn.) was named to the weekly BIG EAST Honor Roll, as announced by the conference on Monday afternoon. Kranich stepped up her game in contests against Louisville and Cincinnati last week and receives the first weekly conference recognition of her career.

In a 1-0 win over Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon Kranich posted her first shutout of the season. She made six saves in the game, with all six preserving the slim Villanova lead after the Wildcats scored in the fifth minute of the game. None of the plays made by Kranich were bigger than her save of a penalty kick by the Bearcats midway through the first half. It was her second career save of a penalty kick in game action.

Kranich totaled 12 saves for the weekend after also stopping six shots versus Louisville in a double overtime loss on Friday afternoon. She made three saves in the second half of regulation and one more in the first overtime period before the Cardinals netted the game-winning goal in the 102nd minute when the ball deflected off another player and into the net.

Over the past four games, during which Villanova is 3-1, Kranich has accumulated 21 saves while posting an .808 save percentage in that span. She has played every second of all 16 games for the Wildcats this season and currently leads the entire nation in goalkeeper minutes played. Kranich is also tied for fifth in the BIG EAST Conference with 63 saves.

Villanova returns to action this week with a road game at DePaul scheduled for Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Central time.