Exeter’s McIlroy drawn to lacrosse right from the start

Lacrosse wasn’t the first sport Erin McIlroy played, but it ended up being the one she enjoyed the most.

The Exeter High School senior was on the soccer pitch and the basketball court for as long as she can remember, but she didn’t pick up a lacrosse stick until fourth grade.

There was an instant draw.

“I just loved playing lacrosse, as soon as I touched a stick and learned how to play,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s an amazing game and it’s just been my favorite sport for a while. I knew that with that sport I would be able to play in college and I pursued that.”

She joined the NH Tomahawks program in eighth grade, which pushed her even more to want to play in college, and in the fall, McIlory will head off to Franklin Pierce University to play for the Ravens.

But before that, she and her Blue Hawks teammates will battle in the Division I playoffs, as No. 8 Exeter (9-9) heads to Nashua to face No. 1 Bishop Guertin (15-1-1) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

This postseason will be the culmination of an up-and-down couple of seasons for McIlroy as a member of the Blue Hawks.

After losing the 2020 season to the COVID-19 pandemic, Exeter won just seven games last year, but with the postseason set up regionally, the Blue Hawks ended up reaching the D1 semifinals. An offseason coaching change saw Taylor Landers take over as the head coach in December, and during the regular season, Exeter never won or lost more than three games in a row.

Through it all, McIlroy has tried to help a young team reach its potential and leave a foundation in place for upcoming seasons.

“The biggest thing about her, her main goal wasn’t about having wins,” Landers said. “It was inspiring her teammates to be supportive of each other. It’s her goal to set the work ethic that the rest of the team meets, to remind people why they are there, not only by communicating but by showing up.”

For a first-year varsity head coach, having that kind of senior leadership has been immense.

“She’s just someone who is very mature in a great, positive way,” the coach said. “She’s setting up teammates for success. She is a talented player, but extremely selfless.”

McIlroy took on even more of that role in the offseason, helping to organize the team’s workouts and set up participation in the Tomahawks’ indoor league.

“It’s important for us to be touching a stick in the offseason, so when we’re in-season, we’re ready to go.” she said. “I think the more your team can get together before the season, the better off you’ll be.”

Next year will be another change for McIlroy, but it will be in a place that, much like lacrosse, she felt was the right fit from the start.

“I was looking at a few different schools,” she said. “I was looking at the (physicians assistant) program because that’s what I’m interested in. I looked at a few schools with that. I wanted a rural campus and Franklin Pierce just provided that.

“The coach reached out after a tournament and invited me to a prospect day. I went over there and played and it was an amazing experience, nothing like the other schools I visited. The coach was so welcoming, so personable, and the team was amazing. They were so engaging and talking to all of us. That culture and environment just drew me in and made it the perfect decision for me.”

Landers is excited to see what McIlroy can do at the next level after getting to spend the season with her.

“She is very committed to the sport, she’s passionate about it,” Landers said. “She’s committed to Franklin Pierce, but still wants to show what she can do and leave her stamp at Exeter.”