After claiming the first NJCAA National Championship in Harford's modern era, head coach Nikki Murphy returns for her eighth season as head coach of the Fighting Owls women's lacrosse program.
Harford returned in 2020 as the NJCAA's top ranked team in their preseason poll. Murphy led the Fighting Owls to victory in their lone regular season game against Finger Lakes on March 7. On March 16, the NJCAA cancelled the remainder of the 2020 spring sports season due to COVID-19.
Fresh off a year long hiatus, Murphy returned to sidelines in 2019 with resounding success. After starting the season 4-0, the NJCAA awarded Murphy's Fighting Owls their first No. 1 ranking in modern program history. Harford would hold on to the No. 1 ranking through the rest of the season, completing its first ever undefeated (11-0) regular season. Despite dropping the Region XX final to Anne Arundel, Harford rebounded and defeated Onondaga in the semifinals and the Riverhawks in the finals of the NJCAA National Championship tournament to win its first championship. Murphy would later be named Outstanding Coach of the Tournament.
Members of the 2019 Fighting Owls continued to collect hardware after the tournament. A program record 10 Fighting Owls earned All-Maryland JUCO Conference honors, including Offensive Player of the Year Sarah Dudick. The Harford freshman joined four other Fighting Owls on the NJCAA All-American list, including two time honoree Rachel Wilson.
In 2017, Murphy would lead the Fighting Owls to their fourth straight winning record (8-6). Harford finished the season with three freshman All-American's, including attacker Courtney Poole, goalkeeper Erica Wright and midfielder Nina Urban.
Murphy led the 2016 Fighting Owls to the most wins in program history with a 14-4 record. She would capture an outright regular season conference championship thanks to unblemished 8-0 record against Md Juco opponents. Three Fighting Owls would be named to the All-American team, including sophomore midfielder Lauren Haggerty, sophomore goalie Allie Storke, and freshman attacker Cassidy Jones. Murphy helped mentor Haggerty on her way to scoring the most goals and points in a single season in Harford history, while Jones would break the school's single season assist record.
In 2015, Murphy guided the Fighting Owls to the program's first Region XX Championship with a 22-12 win over Nassau. Harford won 10 games, the second-most in school history, behind the 11-4 2002 team. Murphy helped the team earn another share of the conference title and mentored All-American's Karley Bush, the program's all-time leading scorer with 112 goals and 128 points, and Natalie Decker.
| Year |
Record |
| 2019 |
14-1 |
| 2017 |
8-6 |
| 2016 |
14-4 |
| 2015 |
10-5 |
| 2014 |
9-8 |
| 2013 |
8-8 |
| 2012 |
7-9 |
| Total |
60-41 |
In 2014, Murphy guided the Fighting Owls to their first above .500 record since 2008 with a 9-8 campaign. Harford tied for the Md Juco Championship with a 3-3 record with all other conference teams. The Fighting Owls defeated CCBC Essex 20-16 in the Region 20 semifinals to advance to the NJCAA Tournament. The following day, Harford fell 17-16 in overtime to Anne Arundel in the title game.
Murphy led a pair of NJCAA All-Americans in freshman Karley Bush and sophomore Bri Logana.
In 2013, Murphy guided her squad to a 20-12 victory over Howard in the Region 20 semifinals to clinch the NJCAA bid. The Fighting Owls finished that campaign with an 8-8 mark, the third-most wins in program history.
The head coach recruited and coached the program’s second 100-point scorer, NJCAA All-American Sara Lebrun, who tallied 104 points and 89 goals in her two-year campaign.
In her first season, Murphy guided the Fighting Owls to a 7-9 record, which included a win over No. 3 Nassau, 18-17 in overtime. That victory was the program's first win over an opponent ranked in the top three in the nation.
Murphy played lacrosse and soccer at Stevenson University from 1999-2003, where she also captained both teams in 2003. She was awarded the MVP award in 1999 and 2000 at a soccer tournament and tied the school record for the most assists in one women’s lacrosse game.
Murphy achieved the triple crown at Bel Air High School where she played varsity soccer, basketball and softball between 1996-1999, and captained all three in her senior year. She was awarded First-Team All-County for soccer, basketball and softball. In 1999, she was awarded First-Team All-State for soccer.
She is a certified coach through Maryland State Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA) and used that certification to coach women’s soccer at Aberdeen High School in 2011.
Murphy previously worked at T. Rowe Price Investment Company from 2003-2011, where she was a manager responsible for a team of 15 associates in a back office environment. Here she used her coaching skills to document team performance, promote career development and train associates.
