West Holmes junior Charli Murphy breaks single-season scoring record with dominant postseason performance

About 19 minutes into play during West Holmes’ 8-0 Division IV sectional final victory over East Liverpool at West Holmes High School on Oct. 15, Lady Knights junior Charli Murphy lined up a shot on goal, uncorking a low screamer that successfully ripped into the back of the net, just inside the left post.

With that score, her 46th of the campaign, Murphy broke WH's single-season scoring record set by Allie McMillen, her teammate from two years prior.

For Murphy, it was simply another goal, because she was totally unaware of what she had just done. 

“Really, I had no idea,” Murphy said of the record, having hammered home the record-tying goal moments earlier with a striking cannon shot from just inside the top of the box. “I was just out there trying to help the team win.”

Not long after that, she broke her own record, again, and again and again, amassing five goals in the victory on her way to number 49.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all that she had no idea,” said her coach and father, Bruce Murphy. “I’ve always preached to my players that we want to play the game the right way, and the most dangerous player on the field is the one who can get other people involved because it creates so many challenges for opponents. Charli is as unselfish a player as I’ve been around, so I guess she listened.”

Even in breaking the record, Murphy has exhibited a penchant for delivering passes to teammates to set them up for success.

She said she believes that her biggest asset is her ability to see the field and see things developing, something her coach said is what sets her apart from simply being a scoring machine and nothing else.

“My main goal is to come out here and help us win any way I can,” Murphy said. “We’ve had a little bit of an inconsistent season, but we play in a conference that is so good that our record doesn’t really describe how good we are.

“I love connecting with my teammates and setting them up to score. If the ball comes to me and I have an opportunity, I’m going to try to score because that’s my job, but I really think my ability to see the field and see things developing is my biggest asset.”

Indeed, the Ohio Cardinal Conference continued to prove that it is a conference that seems to crank out a bunch of high-quality teams year after year, and this year has been no different. With perennial powerhouses like Ashland, Lexington, Madison and Wooster crowding to the top of the pack, it makes for tough sledding for West Holmes.

Despite all the talent running around the pitch in the OCC, other coaches saw the value Murphy brings to the Lady Knights and tabbed her as the league’s offensive Player of the Year.

“It’s been a learning curve,” Murphy said of the season. “We come in after games and work on fixing things and getting better, and most importantly, we play for each other.”

Murphy is the first to acknowledge that her teammates are the most important part of her ability to score, noting that no individual wins games without the work of many.

As for breaking McMillen’s record, Murphy heaped praise on the former Lady Knights great who ended her career with a school-record 136 goals and became a first-team All-Ohioan.

“Allie really took me under her wing and really encouraged me,” Murphy said. “She’s probably the main reason half of us succeeded because she was always so encouraging and uplifting to all of us, always there for everyone and making us all better.”

Murphy appears ready to topple her mentor’s career scoring record at WHHS next season. Chances are good that those numbers won’t mean as much to her as carving out more wins with her teammates now and in the future.