Molly Dwyer Named High School Girls' Midwest Player of the Year

The best players shine in the biggest games. That has certainly been the case for Molly Dwyer.

Against Michigan state champion Detroit Country Day, the Loyola Academy senior delivered a seven-goal performance.

In two games against archrival New Trier, Dwyer notched a combined eight goals, six draw controls and five ground balls.

During the Ramblers’ five-game, four-day East Coast trip against a slew of top teams, Dwyer racked up 19 goals, nine assists, 16 ground balls and 18 draw controls. That included four goals against No. 12 St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Va.) and eight points (six goals, two assists) against Georgetown Visitation (D.C.), also considered in USA Lacrosse’s final ranking.

“She’s an incredibly hard worker,” Loyola Academy coach John Dwyer said. “No moment is too big for her. She loves the challenge of the bigger games and the better teams.”

As a senior, Dwyer led the Ramblers in virtually every statistical category, including goals (126), points (164), ground balls (71) and caused turnovers (49). In the categories she wasn’t first in, the Clemson commit was still toward the top, ranking second in assists (38) and draw controls (101). Indeed, Dwyer probably would take most draw controls for 99 percent of high school teams. It just so happens that the Ramblers are also blessed with Chloe Mangel (Notre Dame), a maestro in the circle, so Dwyer doesn’t have to absorb too many draws.

Nevertheless, Dwyer is a top-notch scorer, despite consistently being hounded by the opposition’s best, and an all-around midfielder. And she had to take on a greatly expanded role for the Ramblers, who graduated four of their top five scorers from a year ago — everyone but Dwyer.

She is the USA Lacrosse High School Girls’ Midwest Region Player and Midfielder of the Year.

“She just loves the game so much, and she puts so much into it,” John Dwyer said. “She’s a very special talent, there’s no question about that.”

Dwyer’s love of the game is no surprise. After all, her grandpa is the head coach. Her three older siblings are all Division I athletes, two in lacrosse (one at Georgetown and one at Notre Dame) and the other in football (at Georgetown). And Dwyer spent plenty of time watching her aunt, Brennan, compete at nearby Northwestern.

“She’s always been very athletic at whatever sport she picked, and she loves lacrosse and that’s it,” John Dwyer said. “That’s who she is.”

— Jonah Rosenblum

Girls’ All-Midwest Team

Attacker of the Year: Campbell Heald, Sr., St. Francis DeSales (Ohio)

Heald finished her decorated career with 273 assists, an Ohio High School Athletic Association record, and 590 points, the second-highest total in OHSAA history. The Brown commit was seemingly unstoppable as a senior, recording 108 goals and 90 assists for a DeSales team that lost one game all year (by two to Upper Arlington). Oh, and in her final high school game, she tied her own OHSAA state title game record with seven goals as the Stallions won their third straight Division II championship.

Midfielder of the Year: Molly Dwyer, Sr., Loyola Academy (Ill.)

See above.

Defender of the Year: Anne Carpenter, Jr., Loyola Academy (Ill.)

Loyola Academy had one of the Midwest’s best defenses, yielding just 4.57 goals per game. Carpenter was a big reason why. The Cal commit tallied 27 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and seven interceptions for a defense that didn’t yield a single goal in sectional play and surrendered just 16 goals throughout the entire postseason. Carpenter also played some midfield in 2026, tallying 13 goals. With Lilly Harvon (Michigan) largely sidelined by a hamstring injury, Carpenter and Poppy Callahan stepped up in a huge way on the defensive end for the Ramblers, with Carpenter earning all-American honors.

Goalie of the Year: Megan Gallagher, Sr., New Trier (Ill.)

Gallagher has long been one of the Midwest’s top keepers, including 191 saves (53.8 save percentage) this past season. The Northwestern commit impressed right down to her final game, when she saved 21 of 35 shots against eventual Land of Lincoln state champion Loyola Academy. Gallagher also stopped 10 of 15 shots against Evanston in the sectional semifinals and saved 14 of 20 in an impressive regular-season win over Lake Forest.

Specialist of the Year: Ellie Beam, Sr., Kentucky Country Day (Ky.)

Beam is one of the top scorers the Midwest has had in recent years. The senior played a critical role in Kentucky Country Day’s three straight state titles and her numbers as a senior were simply absurd. Beam tallied 122 goals, 58 assists and 180 points, including a five-goal, seven-draw performance in the Bearcats’ state title game win over Sacred Heart Academy. Not that she’s only an offensive threat, as she also notched 78 caused turnovers, 81 ground balls and 138 draw controls this season.

Midwest Girls’ Top 10

1. Loyola Academy (Ill.), 22-4

The Ramblers didn’t just win 16 in a row to end the season. They topped all of their postseason foes by at least nine. Molly Dwyer had an absurd 126-goal, 164-point season; Jillian Rocchio (77 goals, 64 assists) easily cleared 100 points as well; and Chloe Mangel tallied 270 draw controls. Loyola put together the Midwest’s best resume, with three of their four losses coming amid a four-day, five-game East Coast trip. The Ramblers' resume includes victories over the two teams that played for the Michigan Division 2 title, Detroit Country Day and East Grand Rapids, as well as two decisive wins over archrival New Trier (Ill.). Previous: 1

2. Olentangy Liberty (Ohio), 20-3

After graduating Class of 2025 standouts like Corinna Hilmas and Madeline Pohmer, it was hard to know what to expect from the Patriots. How about a third straight state title, capped by 9-8 wins over undefeated Hudson and rival Upper Arlington in the semis and title game, respectively — thus avenging two of their three regular-season losses. Megan Benton had a team-high 99 goals and 109 points while fellow senior Aubrey Bartosik (35 goals, 54 assists) and junior Eloise Pohmer (54 goals) also topped 60 points for Liberty. Previous: 2

3. Upper Arlington (Ohio), 22-2

The Golden Bears lost a heartbreaker of a state title game despite a four-goal performance from Evie Ruma — the senior’s 10th straight game with multiple goals. Ruma’s remarkable run included five goals against Springboro in Upper Arlington’s state semifinal win, as Ruma finished the year with a team-high 69 goals and 81 points. Upper Arlington had one of the Midwest’s best resumes, beating Illinois state champ Loyola Academy, both Ohio state champions (Liberty and St. Francis DeSales) and Georgia runner-up Lassiter. Previous: 3

4. Hudson (Ohio), 20-1

For the fourth straight season, the Explorers fell in the state semifinals. Yes, a high standard has been set in Hudson and there’s reason to think the best is yet to come as the Explorers had just three senior starters this season. Indeed, they exceeded all expectations, given their youth, with an undefeated regular season that included noteworthy wins over Liberty and Pine-Richland (Pa.). Previous: 4

5. New Trier (Ill.), 18-6

The Trevians’ record is a tad deceptive. Of their six losses, two came against Illinois state champion Loyola Academy, one apiece came against the competitors in the Ohio Division I state title game (Liberty and Upper Arlington) and two came against California powers (Coronado and La Costa Canyon). Avery Anderson, Riley Nolan and Scarlett Subeck all finished their senior seasons with 80-plus points, with Anderson adding a team-high 112 draw controls. Previous: 5

6. St. Francis DeSales (Ohio), 22-1

The Stallions set a tone when they beat eventual Indiana runner-up Guerin Catholic by 11 in their 2026 opener, followed by a seven-goal win over Ohio Division I power New Albany. DeSales’ lone loss came to another Division I power, Upper Arlington, and the Stallions responded to that defeat with 18 straight wins. That included Butler commit Caroline Cross scoring six goals in a one-goal state semi win and Campbell Heald tallying seven in the title game. Previous: 6

7. Minnetonka (Minn.), 18-1

The Skippers suffered their first loss on May 1, by two at Buffalo (Minn.), then never lost again, starting with a one-goal win over Edina (Minn.) four days later and ending with a revenge win over the Bison in the state championship game. Lilly Palm averaged 5.2 points per game en route to a team-high 71 goals. She was one of seven Minnetonka players to notch 39-plus points alongside Ellie Barrett, Lina Botten, Ingrid Huber, Charlotte Marshman, Chloe Ronning and Keira Spaniol. Previous: 7

8. Kentucky Country Day (Ky.), 23-1

The Bearcats delivered another brilliant season, with 19 straight wins to end the year, capped by a third straight state championship. Senior Ellie Beam was remarkable all year, leading KCD in goals (122), assists (58), points (180), ground balls (81) and draw controls (138). Four teammates — senior Ceci Flowers and juniors Preston Amin, Olivia Autry and Payton Jones — also topped 60 points. Previous: 8

9. Mariemont (Ohio), 19-2

The Warriors gave the Stallions all they could handle in their state semifinal loss. Nellie Deeter had six goals, including a game-tying goal with 1:22 remaining. It was a valiant close to a strong season in which Mariemont won 12 in a row between its lone losses to Division II state champion DeSales (by a combined four goals). Previous: 9

10. Bishop Chatard (Ind.), 18-2

The Trojans suffered two early losses, the first by a goal at Springboro (Ohio) in mid-March and the second by four at Guerin Catholic (Ind.). Bishop Chatard never lost again, winning 12 straight to end the season, including topping the Golden Eagles by a goal in the state title game. Manhattan University commit Maggie Piatt finished her senior season with 95 goals, 52 assists and 147 points. Previous: 10