Sara Whalen

International

In 1997, Whalen began her career for the United States women's national soccer team 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. 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, and Sanford Stadium. In the final game against China, neither side had scored and the game moved from extra time to penalty kicks. 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 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 as a part of the US Women's Team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. They lost to Norway in the…

Born in Natick, Massachusetts, to John and Linda Whalen, Sara was raised in Greenlawn, New York, with her sister Deborah, and is Jewish. She attended Harborfields High School in her hometown, where she played varsity soccer, basketball, and track as a sprinter. Whalen graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in psychology. She received her master's degree in psychology from Fordham University, and her doctorate from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

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 and was the 1997 NSCAA Division 1 National Player of the Year, as well as being named to Soccer America's Collegiate Team of the Decade for the 1990s. She scored both goals in the 1997 NCAA 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 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 as the nation's top soccer player. She finished her college career with 23 goals and 43 assists. They retired her No. 8 jersey.

Whalen lives outside of New York City with her husband, Jon Hess, a NASDAQ trader and former Princeton University 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 on Long Island in the Soccer Category with the Class of 2001.