Brittany Anghel stood exhausted on the field at S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Va., after a hard-fought, double-overtime draw against Old Dominion. It was Aug. 22, 2010, and the freshman goalkeeper had just recorded her first career shutout at Syracuse.

Anghel, now a junior, recorded her 15th career shutout last Sunday in SU’s 1-0 victory over Cincinnati.

“Just the feeling of denying other teams, especially when they have good forwards who have been scoring a lot,” Anghel said, “it’s a great feeling to shut them out and to make saves in opportune times.”

The shutout against the Bearcats moved her into second place on the program’s all-time shutouts list, five behind Eliza Bennett-Hattan (2006-2009). Anghel has five wins for the Orange (5-4-2), and as wins continue to come and Anghel advances in the record book, the shutouts stand out in her 48 career games.

One shutout the goalkeeper cherishes came toward the end of her freshman season in a home game against Rutgers. It was raining throughout the match, and the Orange needed a win to continue its push toward a Big East tournament berth.

Anghel recorded eight saves against one of the Big East’s top teams, and the game remained scoreless late into the second half. With less than four minutes to go, SU’s Tina Romagnuolo sealed a victory on what coach Phil Wheddon called a “world-class goal.”

“It was an emotional game,” Anghel said. “Just the whole thing was a good experience.”

Anghel recorded five shutouts during her freshman season. Her seven shutouts as a sophomore was one shy of the SU single-season record.

She credits SU’s defense and coaching staff for her success. Wheddon, who is the only coach to ever work for both the men’s and women’s national programs, has been instrumental to Anghel’s growth.

“Phil just really knows his stuff,” Anghel said. “He knows how to get the most out of us. Sometimes we’ll have really tough training sessions where we’re getting scored on left and right, but you just have to pick your head up and keep going.

“He really trains us to fight through those hard times and come out with a save when it really counts.”

Wheddon has worked with U.S. senior national team goalkeeper Hope Solo. Now he has seen Anghel develop into a player who has competed on the national stage as a member of the Under-23 team.

“Brittany’s done a tremendous job,” Wheddon said. “Not only does it speak volumes about the way she’s playing, but it speaks volumes about the way we’ve been defending. Our back four has been very good all yearlong.”

A backline led by Kayla Afonso, Taylor Hanelin, Jackie Moriarty and Skylar Sabbag has been the backbone of the team. The group’s play has translated to SU victories and supported Anghel’s impressive play.

Anghel brings a cool demeanor to the back end and takes a low-key approach. Sabbag didn’t even know about Anghel’s shutout record until she was asked about it on Tuesday.

“She’s been doing so well,” Sabbag said. “Ever since she got here she keeps improving and she deserves every bit of that. Hopefully she’ll be able to get first place soon.”

The goalkeeper knows the individual accolades will come with team success.

“I think most of it is a testament to our program,” Anghel said. “I have a great team in front of me.”

 

Published on September 25, 2012 at 11:06 pm

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu