Megan Doyle has helped put Weymouth High girls lacrosse on the map

WEYMOUTH − It didn't take long for Megan Doyle to make a lasting impact on the Weymouth High girls lacrosse program.

What the Yale University commit has been able to do in her three years as a midfielder is unprecedented. And that’s including a freshman season that was shortened due to COVID.

“She’s been awesome. She’s been a great player for us. She hit a couple career milestones so far this season,” Weymouth head coach Kathryn Riley said of her junior captain. "She’s hit 200 career goals, 300 career points and 500 career draw controls.”

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Started from the ground up

Doyle's lacrosse journey began in the first grade. From a young age she played for her club team and formed a bond with teammates and the sport.

She also developed her skills the old-fashioned way: by grabbing some neighborhood kids and playing in an open field.

“My family friends started Laxachusetts,” Doyle said of the now-famous club program. “So we were the beginning of that. And my mom pulled together like 10 girls at some back field over by Abigail Adams (Middle School). It wasn’t really anything (very organized); we just got little pink pinnies and we would go every Saturday morning and run around with lacrosse sticks.”

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Last year was Doyle’s first full varsity season, and she made it count. Weymouth, which very much had struggled previously, began making history. The Wildcats defeated Walpole for the first time since 2007 and set a program record with 14 regular-season wins. They also hosted their first playoff game (a 13-5 win over North Andover) before falling to Concord-Carlisle in the Division 1 Sweet 16 to finish 15-6.

'We weren’t being taken as serious as we wanted to'

This spring, the Wildcats finished 14-6 and are awaiting their opponent in the first round of the Division 1 state tournament (pairings are announced on Wednesday). It’s been a huge turnaround for the program under Riley, who’s in her third season at the helm.

“First year it was so weird because we really only played like 14 games,” said Doyle. “So we didn’t really get the full experience. It just felt like we weren’t strong. We were building, but we weren’t being taken as serious as we wanted to.”

Doyle may have another year to play and add on to her high school legacy, but she already knows the next stop in her career. Before she heads down to New Haven, Connecticut, to play for coach Erica Bamford, she’s dedicated to putting in the hard work.

“Honestly, everything that I’ve been accomplishing I think about it as steps to what I really want to do,” said Doyle. “I want to be great in college, and it starts in high school.”

Doyle, who's also a standout in basketball, knows the program's success doesn’t come alone. She has a group of “close” teammates who also have caught the eyes of collegiate coaches. There’s no clique or hierarchy within the program, just a love for lacrosse.

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“Cam (a Stonehill College commit) and Mira Flaherty, I can always count on them on the draw circle,” said Doyle. “And they’re always someone you can trust, they’re just amazing. Our goalie, Anya Younie (headed to Simmons University), she’s a brick wall and she's been having really great games this season. And our senior Molly Higgins (bound for Regis College), we can always count on (for) a good defensive turnover.”

In basketball, Doyle is at the 646-point mark in her high school career, hoping to reach 1,000 this winter. Now, with all that she's accomplished just as a junior, is she the best athlete to walk the halls of Weymouth? According to her coaches, she's certainly somewhere on that list.

“She certainly in the conversation," said ex-head basketball coach Jim Dolan. "She is amazing − dominates two sports, outstanding student and even better person”.

From a 'soccer town' to a respected lax program

Doyle helped elevate a program that wasn’t known for lacrosse into one that's now circled on opponents' schedules. Now her only goal on the season is to make it to the Elite 8.

For the younger girls on the team, seeing the older girls attract the attention of college programs can only serve as motivation.

“I think it’s huge,” said Riley. “We’re historically a soccer town and we have a lot of great athletes who do play soccer and I love multisport athletes. But a lot of these girls are realizing, ‘Oh, if I focus on lacrosse and I keep my grades up and I work hard, I have the opportunity to go to a prestigious school and get a great education, playing a sport that I love.’”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weymouth junior captain Megan Doyle is hitting milestones in lacrosse