Bolduc hoping determination can help lead Nashua South girls lacrosse to new heights

Izzy Bolduc has had June 1 marked on her calendar for quite some time.

That first Saturday of the month is when the Division I girls lacrosse semifinals will be held at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter and the Nashua High School South senior wants to still be playing lacrosse for the Panthers on that date.

After making the playoffs the last two years - South's first postseason appearances since 2010 - and falling in the quarterfinals, Bolduc is determined to do whatever it takes to get the Panthers into the final four this year.

"Every year, we base it off what we’ve done in the past and every year we push ourselves to get better," she said. "The last two seasons, we’ve made it to the first round of playoffs. This year, we’re pushing to get to that June 1 (game)."

Panthers coach Ciki McIntire has seen Bolduc's determination firsthand, and not just with her own game, but trying to help get her teammates - and potential teammates - to improve.

"She has been amazing and she’s really stepped up," the coach said. "Izzy has done an amazing job of trying to get the season going on the right foot and try to bring in underclassmen.

"We had a huge group of freshmen this year who have never played before and that’s been a big task to get them in and feel comfortable. We offered beginner (training) for them and Izzy is there helping. She doesn’t even tell me she’s coming, I just know she’s going to be there."

The coach and player have shared the sidelines for a long time, as McIntire's first year as varsity coach coincided with Bolduc's freshman year. But even before that, McIntire was Bolduc's coach going back to this group of seniors' earliest days of playing lacrosse.

"We had them in middle school, and even a couple of years in elementary school, we’ve kind of been with them the whole way through," McIntire said. "When she first started playing club, she was the exact same defender. She was very physical, very in-your-face, very vocal. In the youth practices, she would stand there and talk my ear off."

Being able to communicate is a big part of being a defender, and it's something Bolduc feels she is able to do well with the rest of the Panthers' defense.

"We’ve bonded as a team over the last two or three years," she said. "I’ve looked at goals with the team. If I can do better and help them and we can push each other every day, and I can stay positive, it helps us to get even better."

Bolduc needed that positivity after injury during field hockey her junior year caused her to whether she'd be able to continue playing in college. While she was able to play through last season, Bolduc started looking at schools that she'd want to attend if lacrosse wasn't an option and settled on the University of Montevallo in Alabama.

In the fall, instead of playing a sport, Bolduc spent the season as a manager for the football team and something exciting happened.

"I was looking around at schools that I would look at even if I didn’t (play) lacrosse," she said. "I was born down South and I wanted to get back. I just fell in love with the (University of Montevallo) campus.

"I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to play lacrosse in college. I was managing the school’s football team, and I got a call. I didn’t play this summer, but they noticed me. It’s surprising when you get your No. 1 school looking at you even when you didn’t get to play."

The women's lacrosse program at Montevallo is in its fourth year of existence and McIntire believes it will be a great fit for Bolduc.

"The coach down there does a great job selling the program and he’s done a great job building the program," she said. "(Bolduc) is one of the hardest workers Her club team practices at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings and it’s down in Northborough (Mass.).

"She’s up and there every single weekend. She has worked so hard. She came back from an injury two years ago. She worked so hard to get on the field last year. She doesn’t put her stick down. She loves lacrosse and does everything possible to get better."