The Canadian national women’s soccer team kicks off its 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign on June 10 against Cameroon. TSN will profile Canada’s 23 players in the 23 days leading up to their tournament opener.

SABRINA D’ANGELO

Age: 26
Hometown: Welland, Ont.
Position: Goalkeeper
CLUB: Vittsjö GIK (Damallsvenskan)

Sabrina D’Angelo has been a part of Canada Soccer for almost 12 years. She won Olympic bronze in 2016, and that same year she was also named NWSL Championship MVP after she backstopped the Western New York Flash to the title.

D’Angelo made her debut with the Canadian program as a 14-year-old at Under-17 camp in 2007. The following year she was named to the Canadian roster for both the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship and the first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, but she didn’t make an appearance in either tournament.

She wouldn’t see the net for the squad until the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship, where she played every minute for Canada. She posted three clean sheets, including one in the final against Mexico to help her country win gold. That fall, D’Angelo once again started every game in the Canadian net at the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

Two years later, D’Angelo was a star for Canada’s U-20 squad. She didn’t concede a goal in four matches at the 2012 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship, with her shutout streak lasting until the final against the United States, which the Americans won 2-1. That summer, she once again played every minute for her country at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, and she was named the Canadian U-20 Player of the Year.

D’Angelo played four seasons at South Carolina from 2011 to 2014.  In her junior year, she started all 23 games for the Gamecocks, recording 12 shutouts, and was a semi-finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top NCAA players. She was also named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2013. 

In her senior year, she captained the team and posted 10 shutouts in 22 games before injuring her wrist. But while the setback kept her out of the net, she still found time on the pitch as a field player in two games. She holds the school record for career matches played by a goalkeeper (83) and is second in program history with 29 career shutouts. 

While D’Angelo was 17 when she was first called into camp for Canada’s senior team in 2010, she didn’t make her debut appearance with the Canadian “A” squad until 2016, at the age of 22, after Erin McLeod tore her ACL and Stephanie Labbé became the new starting keeper. D’Angelo earned a clean sheet in her inaugural game, a 1-0 win over Belgium at the 2016 Algarve Cup, and she also played the second half in the final against Brazil, helping Canada win the tournament.

With McLeod out long-term, D’Angelo was named to the roster that won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics as Labbé’s backup. She started in the group stage match against Zimbabwe (her third-ever appearance for the senior team), helping Canada to the 3-1 win.

2016 proved to be a massive year for D’Angelo, as she also helped lead Western New York to the NWSL Championship game.  In the final, she made three saves during the penalty shootout, including stopping Canadian teammate Diana Matheson on the final shot.  She was named Championship MVP as the Flash celebrated its first NWSL title.

After the team relocated to North Carolina the following season, D’Angelo saw her playing time begin to dwindle behind American keeper Katelyn Rowland. However, D’Angelo did feature in some major games.

In the final of the inaugural Women’s International Champions Cup in 2018, she held powerhouse Lyon scoreless as the Courage won 1-0 to claim the tournament. She also started in North Carolina’s semi-final match of the 2018 playoffs, after Rowland suffered a concussion. D’Angelo posted another clean sheet as the Courage won 2-0 to advance to the team’s second straight championship game.  However, the Canadian was back on the bench for the final.

D’Angelo joined Swedish club Vittsjö GIK this year in an effort to see more playing time. Since the 2016 Olympics, she has made just three other appearances for Canada, most recently as a second-half substitute in a friendly against Nigeria this past April.