Shippensburg University field hockey player Bre White is continuing a trend that SU can get used to — she became the second SU athlete in three years to win the coveted Division II Longstreth/NFHCA Player of the Year.

Joining 2010 winner Kristina Taylor in the ranks of the elite, White exemplified leadership and extreme poise in the clutch.

“There were other girls who scored more goals than I had this season. I didn’t expect it [the award] at all,” White said. “I do think I deserved it and I’m really happy that I got the award this year.”

White, also named the PSAC West Player of the Year and the NFCHA South Region Player of the Year, led the Raiders with 43 points, while tallying 17 goals and 9 assists. Acting as a catalyst toward her team’s performance, White affirmed that her success was due in large part from her teammates.

“As a team sport you have to work together,” White said. “I have so many other teammates that have performed well this year.”

Those teammates, accompanied by White, helped SU blaze through a 17–3 season, reaching the PSAC semifinals and eventually the National semifinals at University of Massachusetts-Lowell. However, losses in both of those games left a crater in what could have been a magical year.

“We thought that we were going to win it,” White said. “We played our hearts out. We just didn’t get our overall goal.”

White is accustomed to achieving the overall success. Hailing from Lower Dauphin High School, a perennial field hockey powerhouse, the talented White earned three letters under head coach Linda Kreiser and led her team to a 2009 PIAA AAA state championship.

Born as an only child to Paul White and Sabina Bulatovic, White has lived the traditional family life. Her parents have backed her 100 percent throughout her field hockey career.

Guided by a strong family support system and her high school success, White has carried the torch, becoming yet another leader on a star-studded SU squad.

Throughout her three years at SU, the skilled forward has amassed 52 goals and 34 assists and has been named to the All-PSAC West First Team unit and the NFHCA First Team All-American squad an unprecedented three times.

She was one of six players to start every game for SU in 2012, notching multiple points in all but six of the team’s 18 regular season games. Despite the loss, White shined in the NCAA semifinals earning a spot on the 2012 All-Tournament Team

It is just extra momentum to carry on in the offseason. White’s drive and leadership will be on full display as the Raiders train hard in order to make a run at the 2013 National title.

“Unfortunately we didn’t win the championship but, we still have the potential next year to win it.” White said. “We have to work hard this offseason because every team in the PSAC is getting better.”

With White as one of the major components of a solid-looking 2013 SU squad, the Raiders are poised to make a run at the title that has eluded them for years.

Share