Together, this trio's family connection chases NDA lacrosse title for first and only time

Jason Snow, The Patriot Ledger
·4 min read

HINGHAM – The Notre Dame Academy lacrosse team is accustomed to seeing the offensive chemistry between cousins Alexa Kenney and Isabela Taylor materialize into goals.

Opposing defenses are used to it by now, too.

But no one has seen it more than sophomore defender Veronica Taylor, Isabela's younger sister.

“There was always a 1-v-2, 2-v-1 situation going on,” Veronica Taylor recalled the memories of backyard brawls with a laugh.

“We’d always gang up on each other,” added Kenney, a senior from Milton.

More: Our final South Shore Top 10 high school girls lacrosse rankings of the regular season

That's where the tailor-made chemistry between "the triplets", as they are referred to within the family for their love to spend time with each other, was born. It's the first and only time they have ever been on the same team.

And now, those same backyard battles of the past are paying off under the bright lights of the MIAA state tournament as the Taylor-Kenney connection sparked twice in the No. 1 seed's 16-0 win over No. 33 Melrose on Thursday. With the victory, NDA (17-4) advances to face the winner of No. 16 Grafton and No. 17 Westfield in the Sweet 16. The date and time have yet to be announced.

Notre Dame Academy's Isabela Taylor shoots during a game in the Division 2 state tournament against Melrose on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
Notre Dame Academy's Isabela Taylor shoots during a game in the Division 2 state tournament against Melrose on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

Isabela Taylor, a senior, assisted on two of Kenney's four goals in the win while adding a pair of her own.

“I think Bela and Alexa work really well together in the offense," NDA head coach Meredith Frank McGinnis said. "I think Bela is a terrific feeder. She’s the quarterback for our team. She just finds people. And if Alexa is on the receiving end, then that’s great.”

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Playing lacrosse isn't necessarily rooted in the family tree, but it certainly means a lot to this branch of it. All first-generation players, Kenney is a Boston College commit, the older Taylor is a former All-Scholastic, the younger Taylor is an Under Armour All-New England team member and Kenney's older sister, Kelsey, who is also an NDA alumna, plays at Harvard.

Now starring on the same team vying for a state title -- NDA's second since 2019 -- the trio's connection has brought new life to not only the team's odds in contention, but also conversation at the dinner table.

“Our family never stops talking about it,” Veronica Taylor chuckled.

Notre Dame Academy's Alexa Kenney celebrates a goal during a game in the Division 2 state tournament against Melrose on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
Notre Dame Academy's Alexa Kenney celebrates a goal during a game in the Division 2 state tournament against Melrose on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

“Being the youngest here, playing against them growing up, it’s been an honor to be able to play with them this season,” she added. “So many teams say they feel like family, but we’re so grateful that it actually is.”

At the forefront of its offensive production, Isabela Taylor and Kenney have captained a fine-tuned machine that has scored double-digit goals in 15 of the team's 21 games this year. In those games, NDA is 15-0.

“When we were little, we dreamed of all playing together and it’s nice that it became a reality," said Isabela Taylor, whose All-Scholastic junior season featured splits of 44 goals, 26 assists and 58 draw controls.

The offense reached its peak efficiency on Thursday, though, when its depth shined. Eight different scorers found the back of the net in the win: sophomore Jane Hilsabeck (five), senior Hannah Evans, junior Reilly Walsh, freshman Caroline Haggerty, junior Nora Anderson and freshman Ava Orlando, joining Taylor and Kenney.

Notre Dame Academy's Nora Anderson (22) celebrates a goal with teammate Siobhan Colin during a game in the Division 2 state tournament against Melrose on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
Notre Dame Academy's Nora Anderson (22) celebrates a goal with teammate Siobhan Colin during a game in the Division 2 state tournament against Melrose on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

“I think our philosophy is, if you’re in the offense, we expect you to be a threat," McGinnis said. "And hopefully with that, comes a level of productivity but credit to Melrose. They fought hard the entire game. They made us work for it, and I think we did a good job at finding some seams and finishing shots.”

NDA scored six goals in the opening 10 minutes en route to an 11-0 first-half lead. This season, NDA outscored its opponents 243 (11.5 goals per game) to 113. Dethroning McGinnis' perennial juggernaut this year will be no easy task.

“I think for us, (the key is) every single day making sure that we’re learning. Regardless of the outcome of the game, we want to learn as individual players and as a team," McGinnis said. "We want to be the best team that we can be and so that’s our focus as we live another day.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Family connection proving to be valuable for NDA lacrosse