Senior Moment

Even as the rain bombarded the Setters home field Tom Murphy did not seek shelter. The senior took the chance to soak up every drop of what would be his last lacrosse game.

            Murphy is one of eight seniors taking part in their final home games. Yet for the Yonkers resident, the emotions pour out of him like the rain hitting the field.

            “It really is hard to think that this is my last game,” Murphy said. “I have been playing lacrosse since I was little, and at this point in my life it is hard to imagine myself without it.”

            The midfielder has been a big cog in the Setters (5-7, 3-5) lineup since he first played on the team as a freshman. And for underclassmen like Mike Ruppert, Murphy has made a greater impact on the team as a leader in the locker room.

            “Murph is just a guy that we could always count on to keep us level after tough games,” Ruppert said. “He may not be the guy scoring all the goals, but I know that this team wouldn’t be anywhere near as good without him.”

Murphy has made a larger statistical impact on the team over the course of his career. The Yonkers resident went from scoring just three goals as a freshman to tallying two goals and five assists as a junior.

Still, the numbers are not what the senior will remember about his four years at Pace. Murphy insists he will remember the camaraderie of the locker room.

“There were so many hilarious stories from my time here that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Murphy said. “To me those are the things that I am going to appreciate long after I stop playing, the numbers don’t matter at the end of it all.”

Murphy throws the ball to junior Jake Galizia. The midfielder talks strategy with his defensemen, a routine that the two have had going for two years.

“He knows a great deal more about the game than I do,” Galizia said. “He has helped me improve as a player more than he realizes, I owe him a lot for that.”

Murphy dawns his helmet and his team heads to the locker room. The Yonkers resident and his fellow seniors will take on the Merrimack College Warriors later today.