Sara Eve Hess (; born April 28, 1976) is a retired American professional Olympic medalist soccer player. Whalen played for the
United States Women's National Soccer Team
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...
from 1997 to 2000, won an Olympic
silver medal
A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...
with the team, and was a founding player of
Women's United Soccer Association
The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...
(WUSA).
Early life
Born in
Natick, Massachusetts
Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part o ...
, to John and Linda Whalen, Sara was raised in
Greenlawn, New York
Greenlawn is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on Long Island in the Town of Huntington, the population was 13,742 at the 2010 census. Students primarily attend the Harborfields Centr ...
, with her sister Deborah, and is Jewish.
She attended
Harborfields High School
Harborfields High School is a four-year secondary school located in Greenlawn, New York, United States. It functions as the sole high school for Harborfields Central School District, encompassing the communities of Centerport and Greenlawn al ...
in her hometown, where she played varsity soccer, basketball, and track as a sprinter.
Whalen graduated from the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
with a degree in psychology. She received her master's degree in psychology from
Fordham University
Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
, and her doctorate from
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...
.
Connecticut Huskies
At the University of Connecticut she was a defender and forward for their
Huskies women's soccer team. While playing soccer for Connecticut, Whalen was a three-time
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
and was the 1997
NSCAA
The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...
Division 1 National Player of the Year, as well as being named to
Soccer America
''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the United States, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California.
History
The magazine was founded by Clay Ber ...
's Collegiate Team of the Decade for the 1990s. She scored both goals in the 1997
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Final Four semifinal match against Notre Dame, as Connecticut won 2–1 to record one of the biggest upsets in NCAA women's soccer history by defeating the previously unbeaten Irish. Whalen was the 1995 and 1996
Big East
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
Defensive Player of the Year, before playing striker her senior season where she recorded 21 goals and 22 assists to lead her team in scoring.
In her final season at UConn, Whalen was named Hermann and
M.A.C. Trophy finalists. She also won the
Honda Sports Award
The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...
as the nation's top soccer player. She finished her college career with 23 goals and 43 assists. They retired her No. 8 jersey.
Playing career
International
In 1997, Whalen began her career for the
United States women's national soccer team
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...
as an outside defender. She earned her first cap against France, while still in college. The following year, 1998, Whalen had a very successful season scoring two goals and garnering three assists.
Her role on the team was constantly redefined. She usually appeared as a late game substitute to add attacking speed from a wild midfield post. Because of her versatility, she could either increase the attacking pressure or function as a defensive midfielder as the game situation demands.
In 1999, Whalen helped the US Women's National Team win the 1999
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...
. This group is famously dubbed the "99er's"; each player helped change the face of women's sports forever. The World Cup was hosted in the United States in various stadiums including the
Rose Bowl,
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...
, and
Sanford Stadium
Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 93,033-seat stadium is the ninth-largest American football stadium in the NCAA ...
. In the final game against China, neither side had scored and the game moved from extra time to
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
s. Whalen played every minute of extra-time in the final against China. Although she did not take a penalty kick, Whalen was the first to run up to
Brandi Chastain
Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the United States national team from 1988 ...
after she secured the victory for the United States. Both were featured on the cover of ''Time Magazine'' and today it is still one of the most iconic images in sports history.
The following year, Whalen won a
silver medal
A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...
as a part of the US Women's Team at the
2000 Sydney Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
. They lost to Norway in the final game 3–2.
Club
From 1997 through 1999, Whalen played for the club team the
Long Island Lady Riders. In 1997, Whalen helped the Riders win the
USL W-League USL W-League may refer to:
* USL W League
* USL W-League (1995–2015)
The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...
Champions. In 1998, she returned to play for the Lady Riders but due to her commitment to the Women's National Team she was not able to return until after the World Cup. From 2001 through 2002, Whalen played for the
New York Power
The New York Power was an American professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional soccer league for women in the United States. The team played at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale ...
where she made 31 appearances. Her season was cut short due to injury.
In 2001, Whalen was a founding player of the
Women's United Soccer Association
The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...
, playing alongside US teammates
Christie Pearce and
Tiffeny Milbrett
Tiffeny Carleen Milbrett (born October 23, 1972) is an American former professional soccer forward who was a longtime member of the United States women's national team. In May 2018 the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced Milbrett will be ens ...
for the New York Power. This was the world's first women's soccer league in which all of the players were paid as professionals. Whalen was one of the 20 founding players; a lot of which players were a part of the 1999 World Cup team including
Mia Hamm
Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born March 17, 1972) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player, two-time Women's Football at the Summer Olympics, Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Haile ...
,
Kristine Lilly
Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey (; born July 22, 1971) is an American former professional soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport (m ...
, and
Michelle Akers
Michelle Anne Akers (formerly Akers-Stahl; born February 1, 1966) is an American former Association football, soccer player who starred in the FIFA Women's World Cup 1991, 1991 and FIFA Women's World Cup 1999, 1999 Women's World Cup and Footbal ...
.
''New York''
Volume 34, Issues 22-25.
On June 26, 2002, in a game against the Carolina Courage
Carolina Courage was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina i ...
, Whalen tore her ACL and MCL in a collision with German international Birgit Prinz
Birgit Prinz (born 25 October 1977) is a German former footballer, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year. In addition to the German national team, Prinz played for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen ...
. This occurred just after recovering from a broken rib. Whalen had surgery, but noticed her knee was infected shortly thereafter. During her second surgery Whalen had a severe allergic reaction, nearly dying. The doctors realized that the infection was in one of the screws, within the ligament of her knee, which had to be removed. Whalen had to go through seven surgeries, including moving ligaments from her right to left knee, to repair her injury. This marked the end of her professional soccer career. During this injury time, she descended into a very dark place and questioned if she wanted to continue living. She felt that she had to grieve a life that she was leaving behind. She felt so much pain she stated, "your body can only sustain so much pain. It was like, ‘Just f****** end it. I can’t deal with this anymore.’” Her husband, Jon stated, "It's more than just playing soccer. You lose that sense of purpose." She was slowly able to piece back her life together and she used her education to sustain herself. It was a way for Whalen to occupy her time with something other than rehab on her knee. She was worrisome that she would not be good at a job in the psychology field because of all the trauma she endured. She was able to feel like she got some ownership back in her story and feels like her story helps her with her job. In 2004, after numerous leg surgeries she was able to run the New York Marathon
The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fin ...
in 4 hours 19 minutes and 38 seconds. After this event, she felt that she truly regained control of her narrative.
International goals
Personal life
Whalen lives in New York with her husband, Jon Hess, a NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
trader and former Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
lacrosse player, and their three children. She is now a licensed psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist.
Looking back on her time at the World Cup and with the Women's National Team she says, "we have some piece of history that will never change and that we all feel really incredible about having in our back pocket. Whether we're playing soccer or coaching or aren't doing anything related to soccer, its still a part of our identity which is really, really special." She continues, "because of how much media plays a role in everything now, it's actually very difficult to be very humble because you sort of have to be an image, and you have to market yourself. I think it was a more enjoyable time to play then, maybe because we didn't have that concern. We were just wanting to win. We didn't have to look a certain way or be a certain thing, which was very much a blessing."
Whalen was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame
The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made s ...
on Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
in the Soccer Category with the Class of 2001.
See also
* List of Olympic medalists in football
This is the complete list of Olympic medallists in association football, football.
Men
Women
Individual multiple gold medallists
Men
Two Golds
: (2004, 2008)
: (1964, 1968)
: (1924, 1928)
: (1924, 1928)
: (1924, 1928)
: (1924, 1928)
: ...
* List of 2000 Summer Olympics medal winners
The 2000 Summer Olympics were held in Sydney, Australia, from 15 September to 1 October 2000. 10,651 athletes from 199 National Olympic Committees (NOC) countries participated. The competition was made up of 300 events in 28 sports
Spor ...
* List of select Jewish association football (soccer) players
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whalen, Sara
UConn Huskies women's soccer players
American women's soccer players
Living people
Sportspeople from Natick, Massachusetts
Soccer players from Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Jewish American soccer players
New York Power players
United States women's international soccer players
Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in soccer
Women's United Soccer Association players
1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players
FIFA Women's World Cup–winning players
1976 births
People from Greenlawn, New York
Sportspeople from Huntington, New York
Soccer players from Suffolk County, New York
Women's association football defenders
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American sportswomen
Long Island Rough Riders (USL W League) players
USL W-League (1995–2015) players
Jews from Massachusetts
20th-century American sportswomen