CHICAGO (Oct. 29, 2024) – UIC women's soccer graduate student Francesca Faraci (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South/Florida) has been chosen the Missouri Valley Conference Goalkeeper of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
 
Faraci is the third Flames' women's soccer player to earn a weekly honor from the Valley this season, joining junior forward Riley Collett (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac), who was named the MVC Player of the Week on Sept. 24, and junior defender Madison Ferris (Bellevue, Wash./The Bush School), who was the MVC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 15. Faraci is also the first UIC women's soccer player to earn the conference's Goalkeeper of the Week honor since Sept. 6, 2023, when current senior Sara Sanabria (Wentzville, Mo./Holt) received the award.
 
Faraci made four saves to help UIC clinch a share of second place in the MVC standings with a 1-0 win on the road at Valparaiso last Thursday (Oct. 24). Two of Faraci's saves came in the opening six minutes during an early Valpo push, and another came in the final 10 minutes after the Flames took the lead and were looking to secure the victory. It was Faraci's sixth solo shutout of the season (all during Valley play) and she finished the regular season as the conference leader with a 0.82 goals-against average (GAA), as well as ranking second in save percentage (.837) and third in shutouts (6).
 
"Francesca has been consistently performing at a quality level for some time," said UIC head coach David Nikolic. "She was a key component to our success last week and we are happy she is being recognized for that performance."
 
With its second-place tie in the MVC standings, UIC (7-9-2, 6-2-2 MVC) matched the highest conference finish in program history. The Flames also recorded the second-highest conference point total (20) and wins (6), as well as the second-most overall victories (7) in their 10-year existence.
 
UIC is the No. 3 seed for the MVC Championship that gets underway this week. For the third consecutive season, the Flames have earned a bye while they host a first-round tournament game at Flames Field at 2 p.m. (CT) Thursday between No. 6 seed UNI and No. 7 seed Illinois State. UIC will face the winner of that contest in the MVC quarterfinals at 4 p.m. (CT) Sunday, also at Flames Field. Tickets are $5 general admission, with UIC students admitted free of charge. All MVC Championship matchups will be televised live on ESPN+.
 
Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC student-athletes through contributions to The Chicago Collective.
 
For more information on UIC women's soccer, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WSOC and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wsoc and @uicflames).