CHICAGO – Portland Thorns FC goalkeeper Adrianna Franch was voted the National Women’s Soccer League goalkeeper of the year, the league announced Wednesday.

Franch, 26, made 80 saves and posted a league-best 0.83 goals-against average while helping the Thorns to 47 points during the regular season with a 14-5-5 record before she and her teammates went on to claim the NWSL crown with two playoff victories – including a 1-0 victory against the North Carolina Courage in the final.

The Salina, Kansas native was one of six players that did not miss a single minute during the year as she set a NWSL season record with 11 shutouts, breaking the mark of 10 set by FC Kansas City keeper Nicole Barnhart in 2013.

The record-setting effort by Franch came as part of an overall defensive performance by Portland that was among the best in NWSL history as the Thorns tied the single-season record set by the 2014 Seattle Reign FC with a 0.83 GAA.

Seven of the shutouts recorded by the Oklahoma State product came at Providence Park this season as Portland tied the single-season league record for home shutouts – a performance in front of their own fans that enabled the Thorns to post the second-best home record in league history (2.58 points per game) as they became the first team to tally 10 home victories in a season.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.