Division 1 bound lacrosse standout Shana Hecht ’18 hopes to finish off her senior year with a spectacular job in net.

Shana has made a huge impact on the girls lacrosse team since arriving last year as a junior. After losing only one game last year, Shana played a vital role for the decorated program in net, with more than a 60% save percentage. After being recruited as a goalie from Spanish River High School in Delray Beach, Florida, Shana hopes to end her senior year on an even better note.

Shana will attend Sacred Heart University where she’ll continue her lacrosse career at the NCAA Division 1 level.

Shana’s journey, and this next step in her path, is a long time coming, and had a little bit of peer pressure to get it started.

“In fifth grade the whole of my soccer team started playing lacrosse,” she told The Willistonian. “I have actually been playing soccer longer than lacrosse, but I wanted to try it out because all my friends were doing it.”

Though she’s a force in the net now, Shana started off as a defender. A string of events pushed her into the goalie position.

“During my freshman year, varsity needed a backup goalie and I wanted to be on varsity,” she explained. “Sophomore year the starting goalie transferred to another high school so I became the starter and I kept with it because I was pretty good.”

Her transition to playing goalie started to take off during sophomore year.

“I went to a showcase and that’s when college coaches started to reach out,” she said. “I discovered, ‘Wow I could actually play in college.’ In the summer I toured a bunch of schools and went to a bunch of camps.”

After her initial junior year, Shana’s journey to Williston began to take shape.

“I didn’t know where I wanted to go to college,” she said. “I didn’t know where I wanted to play July of my junior year so that’s when we decided that we needed to start looking at boarding schools. My coach knew the coaches at Ethel Walker and Taft, so I applied to those two schools. Then at a tournament my coach ran in to [Coach Jen] Fulcher because Madison [Fulcher-Melendy] was playing there, too. That’s basically how I found Williston.”

After meeting with Coach Fulcher, Shana knew there was something about her that would change Shana’s life forever. She decided to enroll at Williston the following fall.

“I loved her because when I first met her she was nothing that I was expecting,” Shana said. “She was very loud and she loves to win and so do I. She reminded me a lot of my club coach who I got along with really well. She just told me how great the program was and I wanted to be a part of it.”

On February 12, 2017, Shana made a verbal commitment to play at Sacred Heart, in Fairfield, Connecticut. The decision came after lots of attention from coaches at the D1 and D3 levels.

“Sacred Heart was really appealing,” Shana said. “They have a really good business school, a great location, and a great coach who I felt comfortable with. It is a good academic and athletic school. I had a chance to start there freshman year so after touring and watching them practice I could see myself going there.”

Before she heads off for college, however, Shana has some business to attend to for the Wildcats. And she’s been successful already; currently the team has a 3-1 record.

“We work hard, we are never tired, it is so nice to play with a team that knows lacrosse and likes it,” Shana said about her current team. “I prefer up north compared to Florida because the competition is so much better.”

Shana is ready to take on the next challenge in her career, but her aspirations extend beyond the lacrosse field.

“I am both nervous and excited for Sacred Heart,” she said. “After college I know I won’t go major league because that’s not a profession. It’s another four years to play, maybe down the road I’ll coach. I’m majoring in business so I would love to go to law school after Sacred Heart.”

Still, it’s not without sadness that she’ll move on from her time as a Wildcat.

“I am going to miss this community,” Shana said. “I like knowing everyone because I didn’t know everyone at my former high school. I am so grateful for meeting and developing the relationships I made here. The people I met here have made me who I am today.”

Fiona Bundy ’18, is one of three co-captains, along with Madison Fulcher-Melendy ’18 and Sophia Schaefer ’18. Fiona has had the privilege to play alongside Shana for the past two seasons.

“Shana is always on her game,” Fiona said. “She is loud, amazingly aggressive (in a good way) and the leader of our defense. The team’s energy comes from her motivating voice and she can shift the momentum of a game with one save. She is constantly lifting everyone up and after every goal that we score she high-fives every defensive member because she knows that all of our success on the field starts with the defense.”