At the 33-second mark of the nearly two-minute clip, Phillips sprints from the goal to midfield as Fenwick, down 1-0 against Masconomet, prepares for a corner kick with less than two minutes left in the match. The ball sails toward the goal and Phillips lunges at the net to tie the score. Fenwick eventually won in overtime for its first sectional title.

Scoring is not part of Phillips’s reputation, but she has established a career as a game-changer in goal. After two years at Fenwick, she transferred to Milton Academy and had a respectable career at Clemson. All along the way, Phillips, a Peabody native, was among the elite athletes invited to national camps. But a year after she graduated from Clemson (2008), Women’s Professional Soccer teams began drafting and recruiting players for the inaugural season. Phillips didn’t get a single call. For the first time in her career, she would have to prove she belonged.

Armed with a degree in sociology and a desire to become a college soccer coach, Phillips played in various leagues for fun, but didn’t expect soccer to become a professional career. Even when Breakers coach Lisa Cole called Phillips last year to attend a tryout, Phillips had her doubts.

“I didn’t really expect to play, but I just figured I might as well go have fun,’’ she said.

Phillips owned a lengthy résumé that included registering the most career saves at Clemson with 326. In 2006, she broke the school’s season record for saves with 119 and ended her senior season on the all-Atlantic Coast Conference first team in 2007. But that wasn’t enough to get noticed. Teams needed to see what Phillips could produce a couple of years removed from college.

By the time the preseason ended, Phillips earned a spot as a developmental player for the 2009 season. She was third on the Breakers’ depth chart at keeper and that was fine with her.

“As most of the players in the league, I always started and played most of the minutes of every game so this was all new to me,’’ Phillips said. “But I got comfortable with it. You come out and enjoy yourself more than anything. If you’re bummed out all year that you’re a developmental player, you’re not going to help your team.

“I tried to push the other goalkeepers and my teammates and that helped me want to continue to do this. If you get too down about it, you’re not going to want to do this for very long.’’

Phillips moved into her parents’ basement in Peabody and embraced her new life as a professional soccer player. Occasionally she would talk with Breakers coach Tony DiCicco, who encouraged her to improve her fitness, reaction time, and consistency.

“I was always good at making good saves and then doing something silly,’’ Phillips said.

When the 2009 season ended, Phillips promised herself she would actively pursue the starting job for the Breakers. She started an intense workout routine and joined several coed indoor soccer leagues. She played against men so she could be peppered with shots to help her reaction time. She worked out with teammates who stayed around in the offseason.

Meanwhile, the Breakers continued to seek out goalkeepers. In the first round of the 2010 draft, the Breakers took Alyssa Naeher out of Penn State. She would join Allison Lipsher, who started 10 games for the Breakers last season and posted a 0.58 goals against average with five shutouts. Working into a starting role would be a challenge for Phillips.

“I’m either going to go all out for this and it’s going to work, or it’s not,’’ Phillips said. “I had a mind-set that it was all very possible for me.’’

Breakers midfielder Leslie Osborne noticed the skills Phillips brought to the team in preseason workouts. Osborne signed as a free agent with the Breakers last fall after playing the previous season with FC Gold Pride. When Osborne began training with the Breakers, she said it was Phillips’s constant talking on the field that she noticed.

“She’s a good organizer, and she’s got a lot of spirit and she gets really involved in things,’’ Osborne said. “When you hear a lot coming from someone behind you, it makes you feel so much more comfortable and confident. Her mentality and her organization and her communication and her personality makes you feel better out there.’’

When Phillips made her way into games, DiCicco couldn’t help but be impressed. He remembered thinking, “she comes up with big saves. We only need one save.’’

By the time the preseason ended, DiCicco said it was clear Phillips was “our best option’’ and he called her in to offer her a starting job.

“It’s a good story because you like when people work hard, overcome obstacles and keep their dream alive, and we hope it continues with her,’’ DiCicco said.

Days before the season opener against the Washington Freedom, Phillips was told she would start. The game was on the road and Phillips considered the job another tryout.

“I was still nervous because now you have to prove yourself,’’ she said. “If you play well, you can be the goalkeeper, if not, ‘Sorry, we gave you your chance.’ ’’

The Breakers won the season opener, 2-1, and Phillips posted seven saves. She has gone on to start all five games this season and has a 1.00 GAA. She is 1-1-3 with a shutout. And tonight, Phillips is slated to start against FC Gold Pride in a home game at Harvard Stadium.

“We’re really proud of her,’’ he said. “She’s playing because she’s earned it and she’s playing well.’’

Defensively, Phillips said she has been able to succeed because of the Breakers’ strong back line. Alex Scott and Amy LePeilbet are back from last season. Stephanie Cox was picked up in the offseason and Kasey Moore worked her way into a starting spot in her second season with the Breakers.

There isn’t much else that Phillips could have planned for herself. Just before the season began, she accepted a position as an assistant soccer coach at Northeastern.

“Everything has worked out pretty well,’’ Phillips said. “I was kind of surprised that two things could happen so quickly together. I’m really happy right now and enjoying it while I can.’’

The opportunity is also special for those who remember Phillips from when she was growing up in Peabody. Jose Isidro began coaching her when she was 9 and watched her develop. He was the coach of the 2001 Fenwick team that created memories Isidro said he will never forget.

Even though Isidro said he always believed Phillips to be a special player, getting to watch her flourish not far from her hometown is a treat.

“I was watching the game last Saturday on TV and it was pretty funny seeing a kid when she was 9 and here I am watching her on TV playing in a professional league,’’ Isidro said. “It’s pretty special.’’

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.