MURPHY’S LAW: Princeton University field hockey player Bridget Murphy battles an opponent for the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Wednesday, senior Murphy tallied a goal to force overtime as Princeton hosted Penn but the Tigers ultimately fell 3-2 to the Quakers in the second extra period. Princeton rebounded with a 2-0 win over Brown two days later and then lost 2-0 to No. 12 Syracuse last Sunday. The Tigers, now 5-7 overall and 3-1 Ivy League, host Harvard (9-3 overall, 4-0 Ivy) on October 14 in a critical Ivy contest. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Bridget Murphy’s debut for the Princeton University field hockey team in 2021 lasted only six seconds.

Murphy, then a sophomore, took a blast on the foot on the first play against North Carolina in the season opener, suffering a bruised foot, dislocated fibula, and torn muscle. Showing tenacity, Murphy made it back to the field weeks later.

Rising through the ranks, Murphy was a key reserve for the Tigers last year and has emerged as a star in her senior campaign.

Murphy has enjoyed taking a leading role this fall.

“I am on the field a bit more and more hands on, which is awesome,” said Murphy, a 5’7 native of Summit, who starred for state powerhouse Oak Knoll in her high school days. “As a senior and having a lot of new kids playing, especially the freshman class, I am just trying to be a role model. Knowing that they are out there and playing their best, I need to pick up and play my best. Although I am a senior, I don’t think there is a hierarchy. We are a cohesive unit and everyone leads by example. It is awesome, you don’t find that everywhere.”

Last Wednesday as Princeton hosted Penn, Murphy set a sterling example, hustling over the field and scoring a goal that forced overtime as the Tigers battled back from a 0-2 deficit only to fall 3-2 in the second extra period.

In reflecting on her goal, Murphy credited her teammates with setting her up.

“I had a beautiful pass from the midfielders, the outlet was awesome,” said Murphy. “They just hit it up. I actually got stopped initially but had motivation from my teammates behind me to keep going. Then I saw a lane and dished it in.”

Murphy acknowledged that it took a while for the Tigers to get going against Penn as it fell behind 1-0 late in the first quarter and got outshot 5-1 in the period.

“Going into the half we realized that we needed to step things up, we weren’t showing the offense that we are capable of,” said Murphy. “It was just don’t be afraid, play our game and be confident. When we are confident, we have a really good offense and we are really strong as a collective unit. It was just recognizing that and putting our heads together and realizing that we are capable of getting back into this game.”

After the Tigers fell behind 2-0 and nearly trailed 3-0 but got a reprieve when Penn’s third goal was waved off, Lily Webb got Princeton on the board with a goal midway through the third quarter.

“That goal was a real hustle play, they gritted it out,” said Murphy. “Getting on the board gave us that confidence that we already knew we should have. It reignited that spark.”

With the game knotted at 2-2 heading into the fourth quarter, Princeton sputtered after that.

“I think the third quarter we showed what we are capable of and the ability to come back in the game,” said Murphy. “It would have been nice if we kept that energy up going into the fourth.”

With the Tigers having gone to OT four times in this first nine games this season, Murphy was hoping that experience would pay off.

“We have been there a lot of times,” said Murphy. “Although we are comfortable with the experience, it is not something you want to be in.”

Falling to the Quakers, who snapped a 17-game losing streak against Princeton, led to some soul searching by the Tigers.

“We knew going in that every team in the Ivy League is super competitive and this was another example of that,” said Murphy, who helped Princeton edge Brown 2-0 last Friday as improved to 3-1 in Ivy play. “We have a decision to make here. We can either learn from it and show up for all four quarters or we can take a quarter off and then see the results on the tail end. It is keep good energy and play confident.”

As the leading goal scorer for Princeton so far with three tallies, Murphy has drawn confidence from her teammates.

“It is not me individually, it is the feeds from the team,” said Murphy. “They are communicating to me, they are telling me where they are going to put it. I am just there. Having the confidence and talk from them behind has really allowed me to see more opportunities.”

As Murphy heads down the stretch of her senior season, she is determined to make the most of every minute.

“It is taking the lessons from this game and playing a full 60 minutes so not forgetting but also not dwelling on it,” said Murphy. “It is going forward and just going out and wanting to play a full game and being gritty and just compete. That is all I can ask for.”

Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente was disappointed with how her squad competed in the first half against the Quakers.

“We had no rhythm on attack or defense, we were just flat coming out,” said Tagliente. “We came out in the second half there and they got a quick one. I thought in the third quarter, we actually played pretty well, minus the start when we got rang up on one goal, but the first half was terrible. It was a lot to dig ourselves out of, you expend a lot of energy for a full half of bad hockey and to have to come from 0-2 down.”

After Penn’s third goal in regulation was waved off, Princeton seemed to get a lift.

“We settled in and played better from there,” said Tagliente. “It wasn’t any magic words.”

The goal from Webb resulted from some smart play. “It was a nice goal, she is disciplined and got to the back post,” said Tagliente. “It was a nice finish for her, it is good to see. We need more of that from our players, just getting into position and being ready.”

Tagliente credited Murphy with giving the Tigers a very good effort.

“Bridget works hard, you are never going to question her effort,” said Tagliente. “She defended well, I thought she provided a lot of attack. She was one that was playing for 60 minutes and gave us a lot. We needed more Bridgets today.”

Heading into OT, Tagliente was concerned despite her squad’s experience with that situation.

“I didn’t feel not confident but I think at this point, you could tell we were gassed and had no legs,” said Tagliente. “We couldn’t execute a simple 2v1. If we can’t create 2v1s in overtime, it is going to be a long overtime. This was one of the poorest defending games we have had overall. We were sloppy and gave up a lot of corners.”

The Tigers were sharper two days in the win over Brown and then fell 2-0 to No. 12 Syracuse last Sunday in a non-conference game to move to 5-7 overall.

“The focus is the long game and to get into the top four and get into the tournament,” said Tagliente, whose hosts Harvard (9-3 overall, 4-0 Ivy) on October 14 in a critical Ivy matchup. “We have some good games in front of us. We have got a hard road in.”

Murphy, for her part, is confident that the Tigers will do what it takes to make the tourney and rise to the occasion when it matters most.

“It is awesome; it takes the pressure off of having to go through the league,” said Murphy. “It really shows who is going to be the top dog, it is hard to beat a team twice. It allows you to not put so much pressure on one game but also realize that if you want to be the top team then you have to keep improving in practice every week. You can’t ever slack off.”