Aug. 26, 2008

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond head coach Jeff Gettler announced the addition of Mark Murphy to the Spider men's soccer staff as the goalkeepers coach.

Murphy has played for the Richmond Kickers in the U.S. League since 2007 and has played for various professional and semi-professional teams since his sophomore year in high school.

"We're pleased to add Mark to our staff," Gettler said. "He will strengthen the coaching staff and really work well with our goalkeepers. We have two new keepers (Brock Tomlinson and Grant Schonberg) that we are really excited about."

Murphy plays for former Richmond star Leigh Cowlishaw with the Kickers. He defeated DC United in his professional debut in June of 2007, making seven saves, and finished the 2008 season with a 4-0, allowing just one goal in open field play. During his two seasons with the Kickers, the team has won the USL2 regular-season title and reached the USL Open Cup Quarterfinals after defeating the LA Galaxy in the fourth round, 1-0.

Murphy played his collegiate soccer at Mount St. Mary's, where he ranked in the top-5 on the program's career list for saves (297), shutouts (11) and minutes played (4,583). He became the first player in Mount St. Mary's history to be named conference Rookie of the Week and Player of the Week in the same season and garnered Second-Team All-New England Conference honors in 2006.

The Clinton, Md. native has international experience, playing for Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic Premier League in 2001 and training with Skonto Riga in Latvia in 2005. He has also played for the Chesapeake Athletic Dragons, Reading Rage and Thunder Bay Chill of the PDL.

Murphy attended DeMatha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Md., where he had 32 career shutouts and a 0.63 goals against average in leading the team to a league championship and two runner-up finishes.

His coaching experience includes serving as director of goalkeeping for the Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club, serving as a coach and goalkeeper instructor for the Rob Ryerson Professional Soccer Camps, a coach for the Top Flight Goalkeeper Academy and a coach for Sampson Soccer, a non-profit group operating in Washington, D.C.