When the regular goalie did not show up at
the Wakefield youth league soccer
practice 14 year old Martha Whiting was chosen as the temporary goalie.From that point she dedicated herself and
soon excelled at that position and sport for decades to come.Her high school coach, Mr. Noel Higgins,
needed her to play goalie on the varsity team but she could and did play any
position on the field.Even from her
goalie position, Martha was the player chosen to take all the penalty shots.She achieved tremendous success as a
Wakefield Varsity athlete compiling an astounding 19 game shutout season and as
a senior captain on Wakefield’s
1988 Middlesex League Championship Team.Martha was a three-time Middlesex League All-Star, a two-time Eastern
Mass Division 1 All-Star, and a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic.
Ms. Whiting has continued her superlative
ways at nearby Tufts University in Medford.Martha’s teams in her four years at the
college compiled a 28-20-10 record.She
was co-captain her senior year and set a school record with 385 career saves
plus tied a record by allowing only 6 goals against the Tufts Soccer team in
1990.Her 19 career shut-outs rank high
among former Tuft’s women goalies as does her career save percentage of .904.
It was a natural evolution when Ms.
Whiting became assistant coach at Tufts in 1992 and served in that position
during the NCAA New England Division 3 championship run in 1998.In 1999 Martha Whiting was named head
coach and took over a Tufts women's soccer team ranked fifth in the nation and
first in the region. Head Coach Whiting's debut was a success, culminating in a
9-5-1 team record and earning a postseason berth.In 2000 she was named Coach of the Year by
the New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association directing the team
to an 18-4-1 record and the
NCAA finals.Her success as a player has
translated to coaching as she has compiled a 101-40-13 record in nine seasons
and currently is the coach with the highest winning percentage in Tufts Women’s
Soccer history.Updated9-08
named head
coach and took over a Tufts women's soccer team ranked fifth in the nation and
first in the region. Head Coach Whiting's debut was a success, culminating in a
9-5-1 team record and earning a postseason berth. In 2000 she was named Coach of the Year by
the New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association directing the team
to an 