By Jason Richland
NORFOLK, Va. – Face down in turf, flailing legs in the air and an outstretched stick aimed at the goal.
Getting knocked down is Whitney Shean’s game. It’s the only way the junior forward knows how to play.
“Being pushed around is part of the game,” Shean said. “It adds a little bit. Hopefully, it can get my teammates going.”
Shean is just 5-feet, 5-inch with bobbed hair and a shy smile. Not at all the look of a player as tough as she is. Shean is a power forward. Once she puts her hair into her gameday pigtails, watch out.
“You don’t want to make her mad,” said her father, Peter Shean Sr.
Shean elaborated on her father’s comment.
“I don’t let anyone get to me, so when they do, I’m going to make them pay for it,” she said.
Shean is one of the toughest field hockey players in the nation. She takes as much abuse as she dishes out.
She led the team in goals (19), points (49) and game-winners (6), all earned the hard way. She was second on the team in assists with 11, one shy of the lead. Along with Saturday’s hat trick in the 3-2 victory over Hofstra, she picked up a limp over the weekend.
“A girl pushed me down, I rolled my ankle. Standard,” Shean said with a laugh.
Success is part of her story. At Medfield High School, she captained her team to a 19-1-1 record and an appearance in the Division 2 South Sectional final. She was a three-time Tri-Valley League All-Star, two-time MVP and a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic and a MetroWest Daily News All-Star.
“I just don’t want to let my team down,” Shean said. “I just hope I can lead by example on the field and off the field.”
She learned about leadership from former teammate Liane Dixon. Dixon captained the Huskies last season and led the team in points with 51.
“Liane Dixon I’ve looked up to,” Shean said. “She’ll always be on my back, telling me what I’m doing right and doing wrong.”
She comes from a pretty good pedigree, too. Her sister, Ryan, was the Colonial Athletic Association field hockey Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 for James Madison. Older brother Peter Jr. was a cornerback at Boston College and her uncle, Bruno Joline, still holds a share of the all-time 4×200-meter indoor track relay record at NU. Another uncle, Ralph Joline, played football at Syracuse.
Shean learned about discipline and sports from her elder siblings as well. Ryan started playing Division 1 field hockey when Shean was in eighth grade. Shean pointed to her sister as her top motivation to excel at field hockey. Her brother Peter’s football experience was an equally driving force.
Ryan and Peter Jr. never miss a game and never fail to point out Shean’s mistakes.
“Coming from a family of athletes only makes you a stronger person,” Shean said. “We work as a team, but we know how to take care of ourselves.”
