| Casey Murphy | |
| Fullname: | Casey Grace Murphy[1] |
| Birth Date: | 25 April 1996[2] |
| Birth Place: | Bridgewater, New Jersey, United States |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Currentclub: | North Carolina Courage |
| Clubnumber: | 1 |
| Youthclubs1: | PDA Slammers |
| Collegeyears1: | 2014–2017 |
| College1: | Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
| Collegecaps1: | 67 |
| Collegegoals1: | 0 |
| Years1: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs1: | Montpellier |
| Caps1: | 29 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs2: | OL Reign |
| Caps2: | 20 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2021– |
| Clubs3: | North Carolina Courage |
| Caps3: | 41 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2015–2016 |
| Nationalteam1: | United States U20 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017–2019 |
| Nationalteam2: | United States U23 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam3: | United States |
| Nationalcaps3: | 20 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | September 30, 2022 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | October 27, 2024 |
Casey Grace Murphy (born April 25, 1996) is an American professional soccer goalkeeper for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.
Murphy played college soccer for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights before starting her professional career with Montpellier in France. She then played for the NWSL's Reign FC before being traded to the Courage in 2020.
Murphy made her senior debut for the United States in 2021. She was included on the squad that won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Murphy was raised in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, the daughter of Michael and Jill Murphy, and has a brother. She started playing soccer at the age of five. At around the age of 10, she started to play only as a goalkeeper. Murphy attended and played soccer and basketball for Bridgewater-Raritan High School.[3] [4] She also trained with the Players Development Academy (PDA) Slammers, part of the Elite Clubs National League,[5] where she won a U17 national championship. TopDrawerSoccer.com rated Murphy as the No. 18 overall youth player in New Jersey and a four-star recruit.[3]
In 2014, Murphy chose to attend Rutgers University,[6] where she played NCAA Division I college soccer for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights until 2017.[7] [3]
She redshirted her final year to compete in the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Murphy earned the Female Big Ten Medal of Honor in May 2018.[8] Throughout her career, she earned several accolades and distinctions, including twice the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, twice an All-Big Ten First Team selection, and twice an All-Region First Team honoree.[9] Murphy was also named a 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist. With 45 clean sheets in her college career, Murphy is Rutgers' all-time leader for career shutouts and ranks second in Big Ten history.
On January 18, 2018, National Women's Soccer League club Sky Blue FC selected Murphy with the 13th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.[10] The day after the draft, Murphy signed a professional contract with Montpellier HSC to play in France's Division 1 Féminine.[5] [11] She made her professional debut against Fleury on February 21. She was initially expected to return to the NWSL in June, but in April she extended her contract with Montpellier.[12] She started 11 games in her first season with Montpellier as they placed third in the 2017–18 season, earning the Division 1 Best Keeper Award and being selected by French media in the league's Best XI.[13] [14] She also participated in both the Coupe de France Féminine and the UEFA Women's Champions League. Murphy played every minute of the 2018–19 season as Montpellier again placed third behind league powerhouses Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain.[15]
On May 15, 2019, Murphy signed with Reign FC (later also known as OL Reign).[5] [16] She made her NWSL debut on May 27, 2019, making four saves in a 2–1 win against the North Carolina Courage, which marked the Reign's first victory over the team.[17] She made 19 starts in her first NWSL season as the Reign placed fourth in the standings and was one of three finalists for NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.[18] [19] The following year, she made only six club appearances in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
On October 22, 2020, Murphy was traded to the North Carolina Courage along with $140,000 in allocation money in exchange for Crystal Dunn.[5] [20] She signed a two-year contract with the team at the start of 2021.[21] She started all but one match for the Courage in the 2021 season. On November 7, 2021, she made a season-high 12 saves in a 1–0 loss to the Washington Spirit in the first round of the playoffs.
Murphy balanced duties for club and country for the first time during the 2022 season. She was an unused substitute for Katelyn Rowland in the preseason NWSL Challenge Cup final on May 7, 2022, which the Courage won against the Washington Spirit. She started most the Courage's regular-season games as they finished in seventh place, missing the playoffs.[22] At the start of 2023, she signed a three-year extension with the Courage.[23] She started all but two games of the regular season and played in the Challenge Cup final on September 9, 2023, a 2–0 victory over Racing Louisville.[24]
On September 8, 2024, Murphy saved Alex Morgan's penalty kick in the last game of Morgan's career, a 4–1 away win for the Courage at the San Diego Wave.[25] Murphy played every minute of the 2024 season, completing her first iron woman season with the Courage as they placed fifth in the standings.[26]
Murphy has been a United States youth international at the U14, U15, U18, U20, and U23 levels.[27] She represented the United States at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
Murphy was a starter for the United States under-20 national team during the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup[28] and also started for the United States under-23 team.[29]
Murphy received her first call-up to the senior United States women's national soccer team for a set of friendlies in June 2018 against China PR, but did not play.[5] [30]
Murphy was again called up by United States head coach Vlatko Andonovski for the 2021 SheBelieves Cup, but did not appear in the tournament.[5]
Murphy was part of the senior United States team to travel to Australia for a pair of friendly matches in November 2021. She made her first appearance for the senior team on November 26, 2021, in a 3–0 victory against the Australia women's national soccer team where she recorded a clean sheet and received player of the match honors.[5] In international friendlies from 2022 until April 7, 2023, in preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Murphy and incumbent starter Alyssa Naeher each had 11 starting appearances for the United States.[31]
Murphy was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[32] She went unused as a substitute for Alyssa Naeher as the United States won the gold medal.
While at Rutgers, she began dating track and field athlete Chris Mirabelli. They became engaged in 2021 and married in December 2023 in Philadelphia.[33] [34]
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals | Shutouts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2021 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Total | 20 | 0 | 15 | ||
United States
North Carolina Courage
Individual