Walsh worked way up to help lead Nashua South girls lacrosse

Keira Walsh joined the Nashua High School South girls lacrosse team as a part-time goalie, playing the second half of varsity games as a freshman.

The senior now goes into her final days of high school lacrosse as one of the best goalies to wear a Panthers uniform.

A three-year starter, Walsh has helped South get to the postseason each season, and a year ago, with the Panthers reaching the Division I final four for the first time since 2007, she was named first-team all-state by the division's coaches. Next year, she'll continue playing at the next level at Plymouth State University.

This season, as South has battled injuries and constant changes to its lineup, Walsh has continued to be the backbone of the Panthers' defense. South opens the D1 playoffs at 3 p.m. Thursday against Bishop Guertin.

"I feel like she’s never been afraid of stepping in goal," South coach Ciki McIntire said of Walsh. "She’s got a little chip on her shoulder, a little feistiness in her. She comes off as quiet, but she’s not. Once you get to know her, she’s not afraid to speak up and be the quarterback back there. She’s always had that little fire to be a goalie."

The starting job, the accolades, the college plans, all of it is at times still a bit of a surprise to Walsh, who thought when she came in as a freshman, she'd always be part of a goalie tandem, largely because she always had been.

For as long as Walsh can remember, her and classmate Audrey Mullaney shared the crease, splitting games as their team's goalie.

"We would always split time, like in (Nashua) Blast when we were younger," Walsh said. "I never really thought, going into high school, how that would change. I thought we’d always split time."

The youngest of three siblings, Walsh followed behind brother Aidan and sister Bella by playing lacrosse at South, but neither one was a goalie. In fact, when they were younger, Walsh would mind the goal while her older brother took shots at her.

"Then he got to high school and I wouldn’t let him do that anymore," Walsh said. "He’d start shooting sidearm and I’d start ducking."

While the initial draw to be a goalie was to avoid having to play the field, Walsh found that she enjoyed being back there and started to take pride in what she was able to do.

"I think I kept doing it because they’d always ask who wants to do it and I was like it’s fun, I don’t have to run," she said. "Then I just started liking it a lot more. I wanted to be the starter. I kept working on it."

McIntire saw the work Walsh was putting in, beginning with the summer in between freshman and sophomore year.

"It was amazing," the coach said. "She took leaps and bounds. She became more confident, she was tracking the ball better, and she really just stepped up. She showed up for winter league and was noticeably better. That’s kind of when she took off. She really put in the time to get better.

"Audrey was still playing goalie. She was going to be our backup, but as usual, we needed numbers, so we talked to Audrey about playing defense."

Mullaney switched to defense for good for their sophomore season and Walsh has been in goal ever since, despite her occasional efforts to convince McIntire to play the field.

"Every once in a while, she’ll ask if she can play in the field, and I say no because she can’t get hurt," McInitre said. "She has made some key saves at key moments, which have kept us in games. She’s the quarterback back there and everyone huddles around her. She’s directing traffic and trying to tell people what to do. She’s doing a great job."

The job she did as a junior earned Walsh a spot on the D1 first-team, along with the NHHSSports all-state first-team, something she never expected.

"It was really surprising," she said. "I knew about all-state, but I was more focused on just playing for myself. It was the first time I was returning and I knew I had my spot. I think getting that was like ‘whoa, thanks guys.'"

Walsh also spent her falls playing for McIntire on the field hockey team, along with a handful of lacrosse teammates. This spring, they also brought in players from soccer and basketball, most of whom had never played the sport before.

"It’s been a tough year, but I think it’s a lot of new people have stepped up," Walsh said. "A ton of soccer or basketball girls, who haven’t played lacrosse before, they’re starting and we’re throwing them out there. They have stepped up so much and have done a lot."

Hearing Walsh call the season a tough one, despite the Panthers winning 11 games and earning another playoff berth, is a sign to McIntire of where the program has come since she took over the program in 2016. South won five games that year, after winning just four in the previous four.

The following season, the Panthers made the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade, and have been in the postseason every year since.

"They were just thrilled to make the playoffs, they were just thrilled to be 8-8," McIntire said of the 2017 team. "I think (these players) have those higher expectations for themselves and for their team. They’ve been playing together for a long time. They have a lot of talent. For them to have those expectations is pretty awesome."