Podcast: Amherst’s Niall Murphy on winning a national title, D3 experience

Amherst senior midfielder Niall Murphy joined 'The Goal' podcast. (Amherst Athletics)

The latest guest on New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast is Amherst College senior midfielder Niall Murphy.

The native of Cambridge, Mass., and former Milton Academy standout helped Amherst capture a Division 3 national championship back on Dec. 7, when the Mammoths defeated NESCAC rival Connecticut College in a penalty kick shootout in Las Vegas, Nev. It was Amherst’s first national crown since 2015, and the program had been the national runner-up in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Murphy played in 21 (17 starts) of the team’s 22 games last fall. He logged 1,680 minutes and tallied four goals and an assist on his way to being named First Team All-NESCAC and United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team.

Murphy joined host Matt Langone to discuss winning a national championship, his Amherst career, battling through injury and his recruitment process.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

On the journey to a national championship:

Murphy: “I think it started in (Virginia) in December of 2023 when we did lose that national title to St. Olaf. I think a lot of the team — my class — we were all coming back. We knew a lot of guys that would take the next semester off just so they had one more season of soccer. So, as soon as people were committed in that manner, I think we probably took maybe two weeks off, and then as soon as the spring semester started we just hit the ground running.”

On the thrill of winning a national title:

Murphy: “We had a lot of young alumni who had been on those teams that made it to a final, and just to kind of get the job done and for those guys to see us and be able to feel that they were a part of that win as much as the guys on the field. Being able to spend time with them, celebrate with them, but also a lot of the family that came.”

On recovering from an ankle tendon injury in high school that slowed down his recruitment process:

Murphy: “The whole process ended up being, like, a year. I got surgery and ended up taking the year off from high school to be able to focus on recovery. I didn’t really want to do schoolwork while I was doing all this recovery. Also, I didn’t really know where I would end up with recruitment and stuff like that, whether I would do a (postgrad) or whether I would go to college without playing soccer. I didn’t want to think about any of that stuff. I just wanted to focus on my body, make sure I was recovering well, make sure I was fit. … I’m really grateful that I was able to come to a program like Amherst.”

On the Division 3 experience:

Murphy: “It’s a great experience. The thing is, you get really good academics out of this. I mean, I’m at a really great school and I’m really grateful for it. A lot of opportunities arise from going to Amherst, but the intensity you do have with soccer is I would say a D1 level. I think the way our team approaches it, especially when we’re in season, it’s really hard. There’s a lot of work that has to be done both in soccer and outside of soccer. You have to really manage your time well — you have to sleep well, eat right. So juggling all these things is hard, but it’s a great learning experience.”

The full podcast can be accessed below and is available on all major platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review.