Murphy resigns from position as head field hockey coach at Liberty

Liberty field hockey coach Jodi Murphy resigned from her position as the program’s head coach Friday to pursue an opportunity outside of coaching.

Murphy was instrumental in moving the Lady Flames from a start-up program to a national contender, guiding the team from its infancy. Along with the announcement of field hockey as Liberty’s next Division I athletics offering, Murphy was named the program’s first head coach on Nov. 18, 2010.

During the program’s first six years of competition, Murphy guided the Liberty field hockey team to two NorPac Championships (2013 and 2014), two straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2013-14) and three NorPac East Division regular-season crowns (2012, 2013 and 2014).

The 2016 season saw Murphy help usher in a new era for the program with field hockey joining the BIG EAST Conference as an associate member. The Lady Flames finished their inaugural season in the BIG EAST in second place and advanced to the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship title game where they lost to No. 1 seed UConn, 3-2.

Five of Murphy’s players earned All-BIG EAST honors, with goalkeeper Allison Schaefer being named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and Serena Barr earning BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Murphy finishes her five years in charge of the program with a 73-46 overall record and a 24-3 mark in conference play (19-1 in the NorPac Conference from 2012-14; 5-2 in the BIG EAST in 2016).

Murphy coached two All-Americans in sisters Natalie Barr (third team, 2015) and Serena Barr (second team, 2016). She also instructed 15 all-conference players, 14 all-region players and 11 all-tournament players.

Murphy was named NorPac Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013, the VaSID All-State Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2014 and the NFHCA South Region Coach of the Year in 2014.

During her six years of coaching, Murphy helped the Lady Flames defeat seven nationally ranked programs, while Liberty was ranked in the top 20 rankings for 12 weeks. The Lady Flames’ highest national ranking was at No. 8 on Oct, 13, 2015.