Charger sports spotlight: Megan Mcloughlin By;Tyler Garnet

For this edition of Charger Sports Spotlight, I got to meet with Megan Mcloughlin, a

junior health science major from Long Island. She plays defense for the University of

New Haven Women’s Lacrosse Team. She plans on applying for Physician Assistant

school and becoming a Physician Assistant after college.

Right now Megan's focus is on playing this season. If there is one word that would

describe Megan it would be “resilient.” She has been on the lacrosse team here at

school for three years. Her freshman year the team included an all senior defense so

sophomore year would have been her first shot to play but between an injury and then

the coronavirus pandemic putting a halt on things, she has only seen a handful of

games. That has not stopped Mcloughlin from wanting to prove something this season.

“I want to have a comeback to not only prove to myself that I can do a full season but to

show that I worked hard enough in the off-season to get back into lacrosse

competitively.” Mcloughlin dislocated her knee and needed surgery to repair it back in

September 2019. She has continued to work hard to be able to play again. Her passion

for the sport is something that is fueling her comeback.

Mcloughlin love for the game goes all the way to when she first started playing in

Elementary school and hasn’t stopped since. She became interested in lacrosse when

her dad made her and her sisters start playing. Mcloughlin’s dad played lacrosse when

he was a kid and ended up becoming her coach for a little while. When she was

younger she also used to play soccer and never wanted to play lacrosse until her dad

“forced” her to do it. She fell in love with lacrosse and has her dad to thank for that.

One of her favorite lacrosse memories of all time was her junior year in high school

when her team made it to the championship which was the furthest her high school has

made it in 15 years. “It was very rewarding to make it that far after playing with the same

people for years and working hard and seeing everyone develop their skills. It was nice

to reshape the program from when we got there to when we graduated.”

Mcloughlins favorite part of being on the lacrosse team here at school is “an instant 26

friends.” From the moment she stepped on the field to now she has always felt included.

“We became family. Even before I got here people reached out to me and made the

transition from high school to college an easy one. There are my sisters and we do

everything together like get food, practice and some of us even live together.” Having a

group of friends like that can make it mentally easier to get through a global pandemic

like the one we are experiencing now.

If there is one thing this pandemic has taught Mcloughlin it is “resilience” and learning

how to motivate yourself. “It teaches you to be self-determined to put yourself through

all these things. You are never guaranteed anything so everything you do you have to

work for and push yourself to jump on every opportunity before it passes by. This whole

pandemic will definitely make anyone appreciate the little things in life that we may have

taken for granted.”

There are tentative plans for there to be a spring season as there is a schedule out with

the dates of the games but no time yet. The schedule is set up so that there is a limited

amount of travel and safety protocols in place. Mcloughlin and her team hope that there

is a season. “Everyone has been working really hard to prove that even though we had

5 months off this isn’t a setback but more motivation to win all of these games against

the same teams as a competitive edge and prove ourselves.” Right now Mcloughlins

favorite memory from lacrosse at school is playing with her lifelong friend and spending

time with all her teammates off the field but she looks forward to making more memories

on the field with them this season.