Coaches

Nikki Murphy

After claiming the first NJCAA National Championship in Harford's modern era, head coach Nikki Murphy returns for her eighth season as head coach of the Fighting Owls women's lacrosse program.


Harford returned in 2020 as the NJCAA's top ranked team in their preseason poll. Murphy led the Fighting Owls to victory in their lone regular season game against Finger Lakes on March 7. On March 16, the NJCAA cancelled the remainder of the 2020 spring sports season due to COVID-19.


Fresh off a year long hiatus, Murphy returned to sidelines in 2019 with resounding success. After starting the season 4-0, the NJCAA awarded Murphy's Fighting Owls their first No. 1 ranking in modern program history. Harford would hold on to the No. 1 ranking through the rest of the season, completing its first ever undefeated (11-0) regular season. Despite dropping the Region XX final to Anne Arundel, Harford rebounded and defeated Onondaga in the semifinals and the Riverhawks in the finals of the NJCAA National Championship tournament to win its first championship. Murphy would later be named Outstanding Coach of the Tournament.


Members of the 2019 Fighting Owls continued to collect hardware after the tournament. A program record 10 Fighting Owls earned All-Maryland JUCO Conference honors, including Offensive Player of the Year Sarah Dudick. The Harford freshman joined four other Fighting Owls on the NJCAA All-American list, including two time honoree Rachel Wilson.


In 2017, Murphy would lead the Fighting Owls to their fourth straight winning record (8-6). Harford finished the season with three freshman All-American's, including attacker Courtney Poole, goalkeeper Erica Wright and midfielder Nina Urban.


Murphy led the 2016 Fighting Owls to the most wins in program history with a 14-4 record. She would capture an outright regular season conference championship thanks to unblemished 8-0 record against Md Juco opponents. Three Fighting Owls would be named to the All-American team, including sophomore midfielder Lauren Haggerty, sophomore goalie Allie Storke, and freshman attacker Cassidy Jones. Murphy helped mentor Haggerty on her way to scoring the most goals and points in a single season in Harford history, while Jones would break the school's single season assist record.


In 2015, Murphy guided the Fighting Owls to the program's first Region XX Championship with a 22-12 win over Nassau. Harford won 10 games, the second-most in school history, behind the 11-4 2002 team. Murphy helped the team earn another share of the conference title and mentored All-American's Karley Bush, the program's all-time leading scorer with 112 goals and 128 points, and Natalie Decker