Annette Cappellino knew she wanted to transfer from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and she knew she wanted to change her major. So the then-redshirt freshman reached out to Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon and recruiting coordinator Neel Bhattacharjee and expressed interest in joining their program.

The goalkeeper had gotten a limited chance to play for the Retrievers, and wanted to be a part of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at SU.

“Immediately we were interested,” Bhattacharjee said. “We were able to take a look at her video and contact some (of) her coaches. We were able to have her up for a visit and it all worked out in the end.”

Cappellino is still looking to transfer into SU’s sport management program, but has been a part of Syracuse’s 3-4-1 start to the season as a backup to Courtney Brosnan, who started in 11 games for the Orange in 2014. Brosnan was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman team. She now has Cappellino to back her up in net.

Bhattacharjee said SU had a “thin” goalkeeping unit last year, and backup MacKenzie Moranz left the team. Now, Cappellino provides insurance for the Orange.

“Both girls being the same age has made it a lot more competitive,” Wheddon said. “… It doesn’t matter what position it is, if you’re playing the best, you have to play. If Annette is playing better, she has to play.”

Because transfer rules require that the athlete reach out to the school before the coaches can contact players, it was Cappellino that made first contact with the SU coaches. As a result, Bhattacharjee and Wheddon were able to start the usual recruiting process.

There wasn’t much tape on Cappellino at UMBC — she played the final 16:26 of a blowout 6-0 game against Mount St. Mary’s. Though her effort was scoreless, it was the only chance she’s had to play.

At Syracuse, it’s been more of the same. Though she’s developed a strong friendship with Brosnan, the incumbent starter knows there’s always a competition.

“It’s definitely good to have more goalies to raise the level of competition,” Brosnan said. “You don’t want to get comfortable starting, you want to have people behind you to keep pushing you to get better and I think Annette has definitely done that.”

Bhattacharjee says that Cappellino has a good frame for the position to go along with her athleticism and has made impressive saves in practice.

She’s made “a seamless and effortless transition,” Bhattacharjee said. Her teammates said she’s goofy and popular despite just arriving on campus.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of the Syracuse Orange and doing my best on and off the field,” Cappellino said.

Published on September 16, 2015 at 11:08 pm

Contact Jack: jfupton@syr.edu