‘Exceptional player’
Playing high school soccer was the right choice for East Catholic defender Boyle
MANCHESTER — Shea Boyle was a dedicated club soccer player at Oakwood. She didn’t decide to play high school soccer until last year.
It was a great season for her to choose to play at East Catholic. The Eagles, who had won four games the year before, went 19-1-1 and won their first state title since 2014 and their second ever, in Class S, 1-0 over Lyman Memorial.
Boyle, a senior center back from Manchester who will play at Boston College next year, is now in her second year playing for East Catholic (3-1-1) and is the backbone of the defense for the Eagles.
“Shea is an exceptional player,” said coach Ken Goodale, a longtime former assistant coach at Eastern Connecticut State University who is in his first year of coaching at East Catholic. “Her soccer IQ is superior. She reads the game really well.
“She’s a very good athlete but her technical ability on the ball and her awareness on the field is exceptional.”
Soccer runs in Boyle’s family. Her older sister Ashley was
an All-state player and helped Manchester win two state titles in 2010 and 2011 and went onto to play at Rhode Island. Her brother Killian also played at East Catholic. Shea started playing when she was 3 years old.
“My sister was playing games in college and my brother and I would be behind the stands, passing the ball,” Boyle said. “Our family is very competitive. My mom played basketball in college; she’s a big competitor. My dad didn’t play any sports in college but he’s also competitive. We were raised in a way where we challenged each other and competing is built into who we are.
“I started playing for town soccer when I was 3. I was playing with the boys for a really long time. Me and my brother played on a few of the same teams but mostly against kids my age when I was 3, 4, 5. As I continued on to club teams, I would practice with the boys and play with the girls older than me. I was in elementary school and I was playing with girls in high school, I loved competing, tackling, getting physical, I loved playing at that level.”
By the time she got to high school, she had made the commitment to play at Oakwood and continued through her freshman and sophomore years at East Catholic. She played basketball for the Eagles but last fall – after her Oakwood team won a national U-16 championship – she decided to try high school soccer.
“At first I thought that I wouldn’t be contested or pushed enough,” she said. “But high school sports is a really great thing. You get to know people you weren’t really as close with until you get the opportunity to get to know them from your sport.”
Last week, the Eagles had a game Tuesday night against Farmington and Thursday against Rocky Hill. They were supposed to have a game Saturday (but it was rained out) so they had a light practice on Friday and were playing Wiffleball at the end.
“We get what we need done but we also enjoy our time together,” Boyle said. “It’s a big family on and off the field. It’s a lot of life skills in the sport, within these bonds. I’m very glad I started playing high school.”
Boyle started as a striker early on in her playing days but worked her way back to defense.
At East Catholic, she can score but she mainly sets up plays.
“She sets up a lot of goals and a lot of opportunities for us,”
Goodale said. “She anchors the backfield but she wants to attack and we want her to attack from the midfield.”
Said Boyle: “I love (playing defense) for the responsibility that’s upon you. Either you stop it or it’s going to goal. I like that I can see the whole field and direct the team. That’s where the leadership comes in, having everybody trust in you in the back.
“I would say I play center back differently than other players do. I stay in the back defending, but when I have the ball at my feet, I’ll go.”
This season, East Catholic is in Class L. Some of the seniors from last year’s team, like the MVP of the championship game, Sydney Ledoux, have graduated. But Boyle is confident the Eagles will see success again.
“We have a very talented team and a lot of skillful players and a very good coach,” she said. “I think going into Class L will be a challenge, but I love that.”