Video presentation
There is a sports adage that claims defense win championships and in the case of Marie (Whalen), she proved that saying to ring true backstopping the Lions to four national championships as a member of both the field hockey and lacrosse programs. Â
Whalen was a four-year starter for the field hockey program that claimed both the 1985 and 1988 NCAA Division III Championships. That success carried over to the lacrosse field where Whalen once again was a valuable defender helping Trenton State College win back-to-back championships in 1987 and 1988, while being the national runner-up in both 1986 and 1989. In addition to her skills on the field, she was a captain for both sports during her senior year and proved to be a vocal leader for each program.
She made an impact on the field hockey program in just her first season on campus as the Lions roared to the 1985 championship. Whalen worked her way into the starting line-up and never looked back as coming up big on the national stage being selected to the NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team.
The next two seasons, she relished in her role as a dominant defender, but in her junior season added some offensive flair scoring a career-high eight goals and added four assists.
 In her final season, TSC once again ended the season finished atop the rankings claiming another title and another spot on the all-tournament team. Whalen’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed as she earned All-America First Team honors and was also a nominee for the Honda Broderick Award, which is presented to Division III’s top field hockey player.
During her four-year tenure, defense was a trademark of those teams as they allowed only 54 goals in 97 games.
Her success also translated onto the lacrosse field where she emerged from a reserve player early in her career to a First Team All-American by the time her career was over. In her sophomore season, when the Lions captured the first of the consecutive championships, she played in 14 games with five of them being starts. As a junior, she started every game as the College built on its 14-game winning streak from the end of the previous season extending it to 27 games. Even with that streak being snapped during the year, the Lions rebounded to defeat William Smith College 14-11 in the NCAA Championship.
As a senior, TSC came within two goals of winning its third straight national championship falling to Ursinus College in the finals. Her performance in the post-season earned her a spot on the all-tournament team. That season, the Lions won their first 17 games and the team’s defense held its opponents to five goals or less 11 times and only allowed two teams to score in double figures. The team also added a shutout over Wittenberg in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
During those four years, she did chip in offensively finishing her career with 15 goals and 10 assists.
