Athlete of the Week: Rachel Murray
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| Photo by Phil Diven/The Slate |
By Ryan Houck
Asst. Sports Editor
For sophomore lacrosse star Rachel Murray, finding the back of the net has become almost a daily occurrence.
Following Monday’s game with Bloomsburg, Murray is on a scoring tear with a team-leading 18 goals. After two successive hat tricks against Queens University and Kutztown last week, Murray unloaded on Bloomsburg with a season high seven goals. The barrage of Murray goals warranted her selection as this week’s Red Raider Athlete of the Week.
From the mid-field position, Murray has started in all seven of the Lady Raiders’ games this season. For someone who struggled to find playing time a season ago, Murray’s turn around hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“She worked very hard from last year to this year to become a more skilled player,” said head lacrosse Coach Naomi Radio. “We say all the time that she is someone that can make things happen on the field.”
Murray is grateful for the opportunities that have opened up for her this season.
“This year I knew I could prove to my coach that I could help on the offensive end,” said Murray.
Murray, a native of Lancaster, is no stranger to success. Competing for Lampeter-Strasburg High School, Murray helped guide her team to an appearance in the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs during her senior season. This performance landed her on the league all-star team in the same season.
Murray’s transition from the high school game to college was one that met some bumps in the road.
Last season, Murray credited her teammate, junior goalkeeper Brooke Miller, as a positive influence in her development.
“Every time I got down or got mad about something, she was always there to help me,” said Murray.
Murray also took a lot of constructive criticism last season from Radio en route to appearances in 11 games a year ago. Radio commented that Murray’s speed has always been a major part of her game.
“On tapes from previous games you can see her sprinting back to re-defend and all you see is a little blur,” said Radio.
As for the future, Murray sees things only getting better at SU. As a team, Murray believes things are on the upswing.
“We used to not work together so much and play as individuals. We’re able to set up plays now and know where each other is going to be on the field. It’s more of a team unit on the field now,” said Murray.
With the game of lacrosse gaining popularity in Pennsylvania, Murray hopes to see more players come to SU.
“It wasn’t that big in high school,” said Murray. “I can see it progressively becoming a bigger sport. We’re starting to get a lot of Maryland people who love lacrosse as well as people from Philly.”
Murray sees her role as an ambassador of the game back home in Lancaster, as she is still in contact with her area high school clubs.
“I’ve played on a lot of club teams in my area and I get a lot of girls from my high school asking me to help in clinics,” said Murray.
One thing is for sure, look for Murray and the SU Lacrosse team to continue to progress this season and in the years to come.
The Slate