Athlete Of The Week: Patrick Shea

BOURNE – The final score may not reflect it in totality, but sophomore goalie Patrick Shea had to, and did, make multiple significant saves for No. 2 Nauset (15-2-3) as they faced No. 3 Medfield (16-4) in the Division 3 semifinals Sunday.

Nauset lost 5-0 (a tally that included an empty-netter), but Shea, early on, repelled several rockets launched by Medfield. Going into the game, Shea had surrendered just two goals throughout the entire playoffs. He notched a shutout in the round of 16 against No. 18 Taunton (12-7-2) in a 1-0 win for the Warriors.

“He's been great all year,” head coach Connor Brickley said. “And he was able to have this opportunity and to kind of take us through playoffs, especially because he's not afraid of the moment, and he's super locked in in his preparation.”

Sunday’s game was a rematch of Nauset’s championship win last season, in which they defeated Medfield 4-1. But Shea wasn’t the man between the pipes then. He debuted for the Warriors on this season’s opening night, when the team hoisted a banner commemorating that first state title in the program’s history.

Senior Logan Miller said Shea shows up to the rink two hours early and gets work in before practices and games.

“Today the scoreboard doesn't really reflect how he played,” Miller said.

Regarding Shea, Brickley said after his final game coaching the Warriors: “It's amazing for him, and he's definitely got a bright future ahead of him, so I was happy to see how he progressed all season long, and I'm very excited to see how he progresses moving forward.”