Oklahoma State University Athletics
In the Spotlight: Adrianna Franch
September 08, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Sept. 8, 2010
Oklahoma State goalkeeper Adrianna Franch knew she had big shoes to fill when she arrived in Stillwater last year.
As a true freshman, Franch was following in the footsteps of one of the best goalies in OSU history. But Franch wasted no time proving she was more than capable of setting her own high standard for the Cowgirls.
Franch quickly took the lead on the team and stepped up in goal. She surpassed former OSU keeper Erin Stigler's shutout record with 11, started 23 games and averaged a 0.61 goals against average and a .843 save percentage.
Franch was named to the All-Big 12 Conference First Team and Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. She was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com All-Rookie First Team and the NSCAA
All-Central Region First Team. She rounded out her year by being named to the Big 12 Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team.
A year later, Franch continues to add to her impressive resume. She played with the United States Under-20 Women's National Team in Germany in the U-20 World Cup and has
been named to the watch list for the 2010 Hermann Trophy, an award which is given to the top player in collegiate soccer.
Franch remembers being invited to try out for the U-20 National Team and her eagerness to see where it took her.
“I found out a week before our break in December,” Franch said. “I was excited and nervous all at the same time.”
Franch is the first OSU player to ever make a U.S. National Team roster. She started her conquest when she competed with the U-20 National team during a competition in Spain in February. In her first game, she recorded a shutout and three saves against the Under-23 Norwegian national team.
Franch then had to compete in a two-week training camp in Los Angeles and San Diego before she was chosen to be on the final World Cup squad. Although it was a different atmosphere, Franch says it wasn't much different from training at OSU.
“We had two-a-days, had cold pool and did a lot of the same things so not much was different,” Franch said. “You went out and trained, I was just with different coaching and a different team.”
Franch was one of 21 players chosen for the team by head coach Jillian Ellis. The team traveled to Bielefeld, Augsburg, and Dresden, Germany, in mid-July to train for and compete in the World Cup.
“We woke up around 8:30 a.m. for breakfast and then we would have training at 10:00 a.m. then lunch at noon,” Franch said. “Then we would usually get a break before practice again at 3:00 p.m. and then dinner at 5:00 p.m.”
Once the World Cup started, the training schedule was lessoned to just one practice a day.
“After game days the players that didn't play as much would still go out and do some training, and everyone would do recovery type stuff so we would only have one practice a day,” Franch said.
Although the team was busy with training and a tough schedule, they found time for sightseeing during their warm-ups in the mornings.
“In the mornings we would go to get warmed up and get our legs stretched out and to do that we would go walk through the towns,” Franch said. “It was beautiful.”
Franch enjoyed her time in Germany, but her favorite part about the experience was representing her country.
“Knowing that you are fighting to be a world champion every day was great,” Franch said.
The Cowgirls started their 2010 season with a matchup against Bedlam-rival Oklahoma. Franch and the Cowgirls finished with a 1-0 win, and Franch came out of the game with a
shutout and four saves.
Franch now holds 12 career shutouts, which ranks third in school history. She also moved into fifth on OSU's career saves list with 79.
Franch has high expectations for the two-time defending Big 12 Conference champion Cowgirls in 2010 as she hopes to help OSU maintain its status atop the league and make
another run in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship, where the squad has advanced to the second round in each of the last four years.
“I am just looking forward to the season in general,” Franch said. “I am hoping to build off the way we played last year and continue with that.
“I want to continue getting shutouts. I also want to make the defense as strong as we possibly can and keep that as a pretty high ranking.”
