A journey defined by resilience, perseverance, and belief has brought Sachem alum Kristen Shanahan to one of the biggest stages in college lacrosse.
If you told Shanahan in 2020 what the next six years of her life would look like, she may not have believed you. But through devastating injuries, long rehab, and countless moments of adversity, the Holbrook, NY native has emerged as a leader, a role model, and now a Final Four competitor with the University of Maryland.
“My injuries all required some type of surgery,” Shanahan told Lacrosse Magazine in March 2026. “It wasn’t an ankle sprain, where you miss a few games. It was, ‘You’re out for the rest of the year.’ The hardest thing was just mentally, it was a journey of not being able to play, [and] figuring out different ways that I can support my teammates and get better.”
The journey began during one of the most difficult periods in sports history. Shanahan graduated from Sachem East in 2020, the same year the COVID-19 pandemic canceled athletic seasons across the country.
After committing to the University of Notre Dame, her freshman season ended before it truly began when she tore her ACL and never saw the field.
Following months of rehabilitation, she returned eight games into her sophomore season, only to suffer a broken hip shortly afterward.
Finally healthy as a junior, Shanahan appeared in 21 games, recorded her first collegiate hat trick against Butler, and finished the season with 25 goals.
But adversity struck again. During her senior season at Notre Dame, Shanahan tore her ACL once more and also suffered a torn labrum in her hip.
Still, she refused to let injuries define her career.
Returning for a fifth graduate year with the Irish, Shanahan captained the team, started all 14 games, and scored a career-high 27 goals.
Then came one final chapter. Using an additional year of eligibility, Shanahan transferred to Maryland for her sixth and final collegiate season in 2026. Now, the Cinderella story continues as she and the No. 3 Terrapins head to the NCAA Final Four in Chicago during Memorial Day Weekend. They will play No. 2 North Carolina on May 22 at 3 p.m.
Shanahan enters the Final Four second on the team in points and leads Maryland in assists.
“When you get injured, you never really understand it for a while,” she told The Diamondback, Maryland’s student newspaper. “Playing one more year here at Maryland and fighting for a national championship – really, it all makes sense now.”
Long before her collegiate success, Shanahan established herself as one of the most decorated athletes in Sachem East history.
A 2020 graduate, she earned U.S. Lacrosse Third Team All-American honors as a junior in 2019 after scoring 57 goals and adding 12 assists. She was a two-time All-County selection, named to Inside Lacrosse’s 2020 Rising Stars List, earned Newsday Player of the Year honors, and was also recognized as an All-State field hockey player in both 2018 and 2019.
Yet perhaps her greatest accomplishment has been the example she has set through perseverance.
“It’s a blessing to be playing lacrosse each and every day,” Shanahan told The Diamondback.
Now, the lacrosse world will be watching Maryland and Shanahan during Memorial Day Weekend. And back home in Sachem, an entire community will be cheering for one of its own.
Photo credit – University of Maryland Athletics