Every student who walked into the fieldhouse during the spring season saw the lacrosse statistic board.
The board consisted of statistical targets the Fords had set out before the season. After each game, marks that were hit would be given a check, while those that weren’t were left blank. What was left was a spreadsheet of sorts that determined performance from game to game. Among the targets on the board were winning the ground-ball battle, scoring thirteen goals a game, and assisting on at least eight of those goals.
The most important aim the Fords had rested upon the shoulders of Fifth Form goalie Brody Murphy. In hoping to give up less than eight goals a game, the Fords would need Murphy to play his best.
Murphy entered the year without the starting job, facing off against his two fellow goalies to gain the lion’s share of minutes between the pipes.
Murphy remained unfazed in his belief in his ability to perform.
“I felt comfortable because I knew I was playing well and had faith in myself.”
Brody Murphy ’24
“I felt comfortable because I knew I was playing well and had faith in myself,” Murphy said.
That core belief in his ability to make the saves when it counted most was something Head Coach Mr. Brendan Dawson relied upon often. In the Fords season-defining win on alumni weekend against #1 ranked Saint Anthony’s Prep, Murphy made thirteen saves, including a crucial save against a top-five player in the class of 2023 with 40 seconds remaining and the Fords up only one goal.
Moments like that defined Murphy’s impressive campaign.
To say Murphy was a core part of the Fords undefeated Inter-Ac season would be an understatement. His many double-digit save games kept the Fords afloat in times when their high-powered offense struggled. Even in the Fords heartbreaking loss on May 20th at West Chester University in the Inter-Ac championship against Malvern Prep, Murphy kept the Fords in the game for as long as he could. He tallied fifteen saves while only allowing nine goals.
Acknowledging it can be hard to stay focused when all he can do is defend the deficit is hard, but Murphy reconciles that by telling himself that he can “only control what [he] can control and there’s no point in being frustrated with things [he] can’t impact.”
Coaches and teammates acknowledge Murphy’s level-headedness and cool demeanor both on and off the field.
Murphy faced high-level competition in practice—not only from other goalies (Fifth Former Kyle Morris and Fourth Former Colin Decker), but from all-league attackmen such as the Sixth Formers Ryan DiRocco (InterAc MVP), Wells Filnn, Colin Zeller, and Wills Burt—all of whom will play Division-I lacrosse in college. He attributed his high level of play to the reps he got in against the players within the Fords program all year long.
“The level of offense I got to face in practice every day was arguably a top-five offense in the country. That helped so much with my development and seeing such high-quality shots to prepare myself for coming games.”
Brody Murphy ’24
“The level of offense I got to face in practice every day was arguably a top-five offense in the country. That helped so much with my development and seeing such high-quality shots to prepare myself for coming games,” Murphy said.
The level of work he put in during the offseason was even more impressive, considering in his first game after winning the job he made fifteen saves in an 8-6 win at Loyola-Blakefield. His performance against Loyola-Blakefield and Malvern Prep and the Inter-Ac championship display Murphy’s sustained excellence.
Beyond what he contributes between the pipes, Murphy is an outstanding person off the field. Fifth Former Pierce Laveran’s TikTok about Murphy’s embrace with a Malvern attackman at the end of the Inter-Ac championship racked up millions of views on the social platform.
The video perfectly encapsulated Murphy’s poise and composure after he had done all he could to keep the Fords in the game. Moreover, teachers and fellow classmates rave about his kind-hearted demeanor and willingness to do the right thing.
Fifth Former John Rouse said, “(He’s) a very genuine guy I can trust with anything. Definitely one of the best guys I’ve met here at Haverford.”
It’s easy to say that for a young man with such talent, his incredible humility does not go unnoticed amongst his teachers.
“Having Brody in class for two years,” English teacher Ms. Emily Harnett said, “he’s an incredibly hard worker but an even more humble kid.”
