Kieran Meehan entered her senior season with big expectations and big responsibilities as she took over as Lyndhurst’s starting goalkeeper. So when Kyla Marino, a four-year starter at center back, was lost for the season with a torn ACL on Sept. 17 at North Arlington, Meehan’s already extensive role expanded just a little bit more on the field and as a leader.
Rather than fold under the added responsibility, Meehan and the Lyndhurst defense have elevated their game.
The Golden Bears have gone 3-1 since the injury, allowing just three goals. In three games last week, Lyndhurst yielded just one goal and Meehan posted shutouts over Harrison and Clifton.
The two shutouts have earned Meehan The Observer Athlete of Week honors. Meehan, who is committed to play at Monmouth, has six shutouts on the season as Lyndhurst is off to a 7-3 start.
“I’m not surprised by her ability or her doing her part of these shutouts. But what’s even more impressive is now the last couple, we’ve done without Kyla,” head coach Kimberly Hykey said. “Kyla was like her anchor back there, so Kieran had to overcome that loss. Kieran’s been keeping it together with a different back line than we had originally had planned for this season. That makes it even more impressive.”
To help overcome the loss of Marino, Meehan has become much more of an extra stopper-sweeper instead of the pure shot stopper she’s been for the majority of her career.
“She really is a solid sweeper keeper. She’s great with her feet. The girls are super confident playing the ball back to her. So I think that aspect of her game has been huge for us and she makes them feel calm and confident.”
“It’s definitely a change with coming out of my box more and clearing and playing with my feet, although I’ve done that for a really long time,” said Meehan. “I’ve been kind of reworking my mind into being able to come out and be more confident as a sweeper keeper. And definitely in the game against Clifton, I stepped it up and I was the definition of a sweeper keeper.”
Meehan said she felt comfortable in the role within a week. Becoming a stopper-sweeper is just the latest example of Meehan being a natural at keeper, a position she’s been playing since she was 6 years old.
“From a young age, all my family members, all my coaches have told me that I’m just a natural,” Meehan said. “With the help of my dad and him (persuading) me into this position, it made me fall in love with the sport even more and a position. And I feel like I was just made for it. I was built for this.”
Despite an impressive playing resume on the club circuit for TSF Academy out of Lincoln Park. This fall has been Meehan’s first season as a starting goalie in high school.
After her freshman year, Meehan transferred to DePaul before deciding to come back to Lyndhurst after a year. However, with another Division 1 goalie in then-senior Mackenzie Sibello in front of her on the depth chart, Meehan only played sparingly as a reserve. That history meant Meehan entered the season with a chip on her shoulder despite being a Division 1 keeper.
“I definitely felt like I had a lot to prove and that made me work harder,” said Meehan. “And even though I’m a Division 1 commit, that doesn’t mean I still don’t have to prove myself and I feel like I have been proving myself lately.
“It was really humbling coming from DePaul back to Lyndurst and knowing I had to wait my turn. It made me want to prove myself even more and show everyone what I can do because I love the sport.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)