PHS’ Murphy still scoring biggest goals
By: Justin Feil
Since he started playing for the Princeton High boys’ lacrosse team, Bennett Murphy has always been one of the team’s top scorers.
As a sophomore, he scored 58 goals and had 24 assists. As a junior last year, he recorded 56 goals and 27 assists. This year, he’s again off to a quick start with 17 goals and seven assists, though those numbers put him on pace for his lowest total since scoring two goals as a freshman.
"It’s not a big thing to me," Murphy said. "I’d much rather have eight assists than three goals. It doesn’t matter to me who scores the goals."
More importantly to Murphy is that the Little Tigers continue to win. And though his and the team’s scoring is down from years past, his importance to the squad is at an all-time high.
"Our focus for our whole team is different," said PHS head coach Peter Stanton. "He’s had the opportunity to play with some really talented people the past couple years. Now, it’s his time to carry the attack and the offense. He’s done a good job of it. We want to hold the ball for longer stretches and be more selective. We’re not going to run and gun. Last year, he might have scored four or five goals in a game. Now, we might need two or three."
Against Hun last Tuesday, Murphy had three goals in a 10-8 win over the Raiders. Against Montclair, Murphy had an assist to go with three goals, including the game-winner in overtime of a 7-6 Little Tiger win. It was the second overtime game-winner of the year for the attackman, who also scored the game-winner of a 7-6 win over Moorestown to open the season.
Bennett Murphy is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
"When we play Hun," Murphy said, "you throw everything out the window. It just matters that you win in the end. It’s a natural rivalry. We went into the (Montclair) game and thought we could win as long as we played our game.
"You never like going into overtime unless you’re the team that ties it up, but I’m very confident. I personally love ending a game with a goal. It’s a big confidence boost. It catapults over to the next game."
Murphy has shown an ability to come up big for the Little Tigers this season, the last for the senior.
"I feel I have a much larger role this year," said Murphy, who had two goals and two assists in a 7-2 win over St. Joseph’s on Tuesday that moved the Little Tigers to 5-1 this season. "I have to perform at a higher standard more consistently. Scoring a lot of goals isn’t something I go around planning to do. I just want to do what I need to for us to win."
Whether that means scoring a game-winner or helping bring a new attack up to speed, he’s willing to do it. He’s encouraged varsity newcomers to use their best qualities to their strength, to learn to react to the defense and take the chances when they have them, the same advice that Whitney Hayes gave him two years ago when he was a newcomer.
"He’s really helped a lot as far as the progress of Travis Roe-Raymond and Adam Maynard," Stanton said. "This is their first opportunity to play varsity and he’s done a good job of giving them confidence and keeping them relaxed."
That development of the supporting cast is preventing opponents from paying too much attention to Murphy. And his unselfish play ensures that PHS will continue to present a balanced attack.
"He really understands our team strengths and some of our limitations," said Stanton, whose squad plays at Notre Dame 4 p.m. today. "He really is dedicated to being a winner. He’s willing to make sacrifices."
Yet, Murphy hasn’t sacrificed any of the big goals that the Little Tigers really need. Whenever PHS has needed a score, Murphy has found a way to create an opportunity.
"He can score a variety of ways," Stanton said. "He knows how to position himself well from playing with all those other guys."
It’s a lot different with a different group on the attack this year, Murphy admits.
"With the guys we had, we all knew where each other was going to be," he said. "We’re trying to build our offense now and take advantage of our middie speed. Our offense has been able to hold it longer."
The result is less goals from the settled offense, a few less opportunities for Murphy to put up high numbers. But it’s the way the Little Tigers will win this year, and that’s all that matters to Murphy.
"We’re having a good season," Murphy said. "We’re doing whatever it takes to win. We have a lot of underclassmen stepping up and taking on roles.
"As a team, we feel we’ve underachieved the last couple of years," he added. "This is our years to achieve more than what anyone expects. One of the criticisms in the past is people said we couldn’t win the big game. This year, we are."
And despite an almost entirely new attack, and a different philosophy, frequently the game-winners are coming from a familiar source, Bennett Murphy.

