SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento Republic FC goalkeeper Danny Vitiello became the USL Championship’s all-time leader in regular season shutouts on Saturday night as he logged the 59th clean sheet of his career in a season-opening 2-0 victory against FC Tulsa before a sellout crowd of 11,569 fans at Heart Health Park.
Vitiello’s shutout saw him move ahead of both retired goalkeeper Evan Newton and his counterpart in the Tulsa net on Saturday night, Alex Tambakis, to become the league’s all-time leader. A former USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year and Golden Glove award-winner, Vitiello reached the mark in his 150th regular season appearance.
The 30-year-old spent time with both Nashville SC and on loan with New Mexico United in the 2019 season before making his USL Championship debut for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Vitiello earned his first Golden Glove for the Hounds, recording five shutouts over the campaign, before notching another nine in the 2021 season.
He subsequently headed to Republic FC ahead of the 2022 season and after playing a key role in the club’s run to the U.S. Open Cup that season has quickly ascended to the top of the USL Championship’s leaderboard. Vitiello has recorded double-digit shutouts in each of the past three regular seasons, and has now recorded 45 shutouts in 115 regular season appearances for Sacramento.