Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFreshman Romagnuolo brings international flair to Syracuse
By Jen McCaffrey
Posted: 9/24/09, 1:35 AM EST Section: Sports
|
All of this is now a fond memory as she jogs up and down Syracuse's Hookway Field, across from South Campus, in preparation for her first home game with the SU women's soccer team.
To some of her teammates, Romagnuolo has already done it all. The redshirt freshman missed a year with the Orange because she was chosen to play with the U-20 Canadian national team, where she participated in training camps in Germany, Chile and all over Canada and the U.S.
Yet for Romagnuolo, the journey is just beginning. One of her biggest goals still lies on the horizon: to help Syracuse win its first Big East title in team history.
"She's fearless," head coach Phil Wheddon said. "She works tirelessly and she throws her body around. She puts herself in goal scoring positions, and the way she does that is something that players without that type of international experience find it hard to do."
The Orange hopes Romagnuolo will breathe life into a rebuilding team that lost eight seniors and finished fourth-to-last in the Big East last fall. The midfielder has already scored four of the team's five goals in the nine games the Orange (3-4-2, 0-1-0) has played, all of which have been on the road.
And playing away from home is something Romagnuolo has grown accustomed to in these past five years.
"I wasn't here last year for the season, so I missed out on that," Romagnuolo said. "They didn't do very well last season, so I think just coming in here I wanted to change that and at least win the Big East."
Romagnuolo's journey through international soccer to Syracuse has taken her to three continents and dozens of countries. Since her freshman year in high school, she has lit up the international soccer scene. In 2005, she joined the U-15 Canadian national team, traveling to Leipzig, Germany, where she faced Germany, Scotland and the Netherlands in a round-robin tournament. She returned to Germany the following year, this time in Frankfurt, with the U-16 Girls National Team tour.
Be the first to comment on this story