Moynihan focused on helping Trinity girls lacrosse improve and hit a big milestone along the way

Addison Moynihan didn't dream of reaching individual accolades during her time as a three-sport athlete at Trinity High School.

By the time she graduated, Moynihan wanted to know that she left the teams she played for in a better spot than when she joined them.

But what if she could have both?

The senior has seen that happen this spring with the girls lacrosse team, as the ninth-seeded Pioneers get ready Tuesday to take on No. 8 Gilford in the Division III first round. Trinity goes into the game with a 10-4 record, the first time the program has reached double digit wins.

And just a few games ago, Moynihan reached a milestone that not many in the history of New Hampshire high school girls lacrosse have achieved.

On May 21, in an 11-6 win over Pembroke that also happened to be Trinity's senior night, Moynihan scored her 300th career goal for the Pioneers.

“At the beginning of the season, it was a possibility, and then it was kind of like ‘wow, I can actually do it,’” Moynihan said. “At first, it was a little stressful because I was close and I kind of just wanted to get it. But then when I got there, it was just like a relief.”

Going into Tuesday's playoff game, Moynihan sits at 315 career goals, probably too far away to threaten the state record even if Trinity goes on a run. That number is 357, set by Bedford's Hannah McCarthy in 2019.

But whether it was the record or just the milestone, neither were things Moynihan set out to accomplish during her high school career.

“It’s definitely important to me, but I’m glad that the program is getting built up itself,” she said. “I got to see it go up in a similar way during basketball. Just seeing how people have enjoyed it this year and being able to pass down what I know, hopefully the continue to play after I leave and have fun.”

During the winter, as the lone senior on the team, Moynihan helped the Pioneers make their first non-open tournament appearance since 2015, as Trinity went 11-7 and lost in the first round to Bishop Guertin by four points.

She's once again the only senior on the team, but that's allowed Moynihan to serve at times as a mentor on the field for Trinity coach Nicole Breedlove.

“I think Addie’s doing a great job, not just this year, but in years prior, to just spread her skill throughout the entire team,” the coach said. “When we had new players come in, she would take the time to show them a few things and say ‘hey, it might be easier if you do it this way.’

“I think the dynamic has been great and we’re all going to be sad to see her go. She’s built such a nice foundation with the rest of her teammates that, we’ll be upset she’s not here, but you can see where her skill and her knowledge has come into play.”

And that's been on both ends of the field, not just on offense, where Moynihan, who is a midfielder, has teamed this year with freshman Sammy Raymond, her cousin, to give the Pioneers a strong one-two scoring punch.

“She’s really helped our team,” junior defender Hannah Boucher said. “She’s obviously really good at the sport and she’s very positive. She is a huge leader of our team and it’s just great to learn from her.”

When Moynihan came in as a freshman, the Pioneers had never made the playoffs, and during that first year, they didn't win a game. Breedlove came on as the head coach the following season and could tell early on that she had someone to build around.

“I came into and learned they hadn’t won any games the season prior and they’d never been to the playoffs,” Breedlove said. “To see the girls light up the first time we won, it was incredible. Then every year we’ve kind of built on that.

“I could tell from a few practices that (Moynihan) had this amazing potential, and was even lifting up her teammates around her. It was insane to see what kind of player she was, which kind of tells you the kind of player that she’s going to be in the future.”

That future will be playing Division I lacrosse at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pa., right outside of Pittsburgh.

Moynihan hopes that the future for the Pioneers will be one that continues to grow as well.

“I feel like they have a good shot to be good, that everyone’s really returning and there’s still a lot of strong players,” Moynihan said. “I think they have a shot at being a good team next year and I hope I’m able to see that.”