Syracuse players quickly swarmed Ryan Simmons, whose game-winning goal lifted the Orange over Army in triple overtime. The attention then quickly turned to goalie Dom Madonna, who completed the 45-yard dart to put Simmons in position to score.

But when freshman defender Grant Murphy opened his locker after the win, his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. In the minutes from the final goal until he reached his locker, Murphy received 15 Snapchats and 15 texts, he said.

“It was just a barrage from everyone,” Murphy said. “All from family, and teammates and friends.”

In his first ever game as a short-stick defensive midfielder, Murphy captured the final ground ball that led to Simmons’ game-winner. While Simmons and Madonna stood in the spotlight following Syracuse’s (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) come-from-behind victory against the Black Knights, Murphy made one of the biggest plays of the game while playing out of position. Prior to that game, Murphy had only even held a short stick a handful of times in his life, he said.

“That was the first time ever in a game scenario,” Murphy said. “In practice maybe two or three times and none in my high school career.”

Murphy had grown up playing defense in his hometown of Woodlands, Texas. At Woodlands (Texas) High School, Murphy was the only freshman on the varsity roster.

“You could see the writing on the wall that he was going to be talented,” Woodlands head coach Keith Tintle said. “Right off the bat … he had the natural ability.”

Murphy thrived with a long pole in high school, earning U.S. All-America honors as a junior and senior before making his way to SU.

Murphy did not see any action in the team’s first two contests against Binghamton and Albany, but with Tyson Bomberry and Andrew Helmer out with injuries against Army, the Orange needed to call on its bench.

Murphy waited on the sidelines during the first half. His parents, Mandy and George, watched from their home in Woodlands. They saw him on television during the first half, standing by the coaches with his long pole. During the third quarter, SU volunteer assistant coach Steve Scaramuzzino motioned to Murphy to get ready to check in, but as a short-stick defensive midfielder.

“(Scaramuzzino) said ‘Get ready’,” Murphy said. “He gave me a brief rundown of our entire defense and clears and rides in a matter of minutes.”

Moments later, Mandy heard her son’s name called over the broadcast. Murphy scooped a ground ball, and when she saw the camera close in on his No. 90 jersey, she saw him with the short stick.

“We were in complete shock,” Mandy said. “I was very nervous, he’d never been put in that situation before.”

Murphy was just as nervous. He never had to play any offense with a short-stick.

On offense, Murphy hesitantly caught and passed the ball, he said, afraid he would turn it over. But defense felt natural. When the fourth quarter came to a close, Murphy remained on the field. And he continued playing through both overtime periods.

“Frankly I was a little surprised to see him out there,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. “But with how he performed, he just got more and more runs.”

As his play continued, teammate Nick Martin walked over to Murphy and told the freshman that he thought Murphy would make the play in overtime that would “seal (the game).” And he did, scooping a ground ball out of the faceoff scrum in triple overtime to give SU possession, which ultimately led to to the game-winning goal a little more than 20 seconds later.

When Murphy opened his locker after the game and saw the endless notifications on his phone, he first opened the messages from Mandy, who was still in shock.

“I’m like ‘Have you been practicing at short-stick middie?’” she said. “I asked him if he even had a short stick and he said, ‘No I had to borrow one.’”

His family members weren’t the only ones in shock. Many of Murphy’s teammates didn’t know that he would be playing out of position either. His only response to them for why he was playing out of position was simple: “Anything to get on the field,” Murphy said.

The only people who really had any idea that Murphy could see game experience with a short stick were members of the coaching staff and Tintle, whom Murphy told at an alumni lacrosse event over break, Tintle said. Murphy was surprised to hear the possibility raised as well.

But he may continue at the new position. Against Army, Murphy scooped three ground balls. In SU’s 12-11 win over Virginia on Sunday he played as a short-stick defensive midfielder again, adding a ground ball and a shot on goal. Moving forward, with Bomberry and Helmer still injured, Murphy will likely see a lot of playing time, Desko said.

“It’s nice to know that he can rise to the occasion.”

Published on March 7, 2018 at 11:02 pm

Contact Matt: mdliberm@syr.edu