Oct. 20, 2003

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois goalkeeper Leisha Alcia (St. Martin's HS, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) has been named Big Ten Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after a pair of stellar performances for the Illini over the weekend.

Alcia was solid in Friday's 2-1 win over Indiana, making four saves to earn the win. But she really shined in Sunday's 1-1 tie with #14 Purdue. Just five minutes into the game, she collided with a Purdue forward and was thought to be lost for the game, however, after being down for several minutes, she remained on the field and would wind up having a career day.

After letting up an early goal to the Boilermakers on a corner kick, Alcia was flawless for the rest of the match, making a career-high 11 stops while literally saving the game for the Illini. Four of those 11 saves came in the two overtime periods, and two of those were diving stops to thwart Purdue breakaway attempts.

This season, Alcia has given up just 10 goals in over 1380 minutes of action (0.65 GAA) while leading the #15 Illini to a 10-3-2 record and a 6-1-2 Big Ten mark. She currently ranks second in the Big Ten in goals-against-average and tops the Illinois career charts in several categories, including saves (224), shutouts (10.0), GAA (1.25) and consecutive shutouts (5). This is the junior's fourth career Big Ten Player of the Week honor and her second this season. She was previously honored on 9/22 after leading the Illini to a pair of shutouts against Michigan and Michigan State.

Alcia shares this week's Defensive Player of the Week honors with Ohio State defender Melissa Miller. Miller led the Buckeye defense to a pair of shutout wins over the weekend, and also added a goal and an assist in the process. Michigan State's Michelle Perun took home Offensive Player of the Week honors by scoring three goals in wins over Bowling Green and Iowa.

This weekend, the 15th ranked Illini will close out the Big Ten season by hosting Northwestern Friday night at 7 p.m. They will then take on Wisconsin-Green Bay in a non-conference tilt on Sunday at 2 p.m.