Rutgers Alum Casey Murphy Heads to Olympics with U.S Women’s National Soccer Team

When the Olympic games begin next week in Paris, France it will be another seminal moment in the young career of Bridgewater's very own Casey Murphy. Murphy grew up around soccer and athletics since she was a child. Her parents, Michael and Jill Murphy were college athletes themselves at Division III level. Her brother, Kyle was also an athlete and coached wrestling at Bridgewater-Raritan High School. "I've tried all the sports, and I love competing," Murphy said at Rutgers University where Team USA was practicing for a pre-Olympics match with Mexico. "My parents got me into a little bit of everything. I just always loved soccer when I was younger. We stuck with it, from rec to travel to one of the top youth programs in the country which was close to my parents' house. That's how it started." Murphy turned into one of the more dominant athletes in the Garden State. She was ranked 18th overall in New Jersey and was a four-star recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.com. She also won the Bridgewater-Raritan High School team MVP award in her senior season. Collegiately Murphy chose to stay close to home, picking Rutgers over fellow Big Ten rival Penn State, citing Head Coach Mike O'Neil's historic track record of success with the program as one of many things that stood out to her about the Scarlet Knights. https://twitter.com/RUWSoccer/status/1805980135276818657 "Coach Mike is like a second dad to me," Murphy added. "I fell in love with the culture. I follow them, and see some of their games when I can. I know some of the girls on the team, and am always cheering for them." Very quickly the 6-foot-1 Murphy became one of the most dominant goaltenders in Rutgers' program history. She went 13-6-1 with a 0.64 Goals Against Average, including 10 shutouts and 63 saves her freshman year. By her redshirt junior season in 2017, Murphy was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten after leading the conference in GAA, save percentage and shutouts. She is also the all-time Rutgers leader in shutouts with 45. https://twitter.com/NWSL/status/1798156096085115306 Murphy's success in the sport has carried her far. She plays professionally for the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL and is a member of the USA Women's National Team. Her debut with the USWNT came in 2021 where she pitched a shutout of Australia in a 3-0 win. In 19 appearances, she has 15 clean sheets for Team USA. Now she gets the opportunity of a lifetime, playing in the Olympic games. "So excited after the last camp we had a lot to build on. Now that it's finally here," she added. Pre-Olympic Match The USWNT earned a 1-0 victory over Mexico at Red Bull Arena over the weekend, with Sophia Smith scoring the only goal of the game in the 64th minute for Team USA. Murphy did not play in goal in the practice opener as veteran Alyssa Naaher got the start in net, recording her 63rd career international shutout. Team USA will play one more game -- a send-off contest against Costa Rica on Tuesday night before heading to France later this week in preparation for the Olympic games that kick off July 25. CATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE!