BY SAPNA PATHAK
The Murray household is torn. There’s a divide splitting the usually loving, caring and supportive family into two camps that will, most likely, never see eye to eye. There’s a debate pitting brother against sisters, mother against son and husband against wife.
“We fight about it all the time,” said Jeff Murray. “What’s harder and requires more skill – girls lacrosse or boys lacrosse? I say boys because it’s faster, you have to be stronger to get around 6-foot sticks on defense, and every check is legal.”
But ask Jeff Murray’s younger sisters, Colleen and Erin.
“No way, girls lacrosse is faster, you need more skills (to) be able to catch the ball better,” said Erin Murray. “There’s more finesse, passing, and it’s harder than just the guys hitting each other.”
Add in their parents’ opinions and it adds another dimension to the Bedford siblings’ argument. But when they aren’t spending time making a case for which gender puts more into the sport, the Murray siblings are each other’s No. 1 fans.
Though the trio’s daily activities mostly focus on lax practices, games or taking shots at the family goal in the front yard, the road to the sport wasn’t taken intentionally.
Jeff, the oldest, a senior co-captain on West High’s boys lacrosse team, joined the fast-growing sport to get away from baseball when he was in sixth grade. Erin, the middle sibling, a junior on West’s girls team, tried lacrosse on a whim. The youngest, Colleen, a freshman for the Lady Blue Knights lax squad, said she entered the game five years ago when it was a “new sport my friends were trying.”
Midfielder Jeff, a four-year varsity player, left soccer to focus on lacrosse this season. Accepted to Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, the oldest Murray has been putting together film to try out for the Hawks Division III men’s lacrosse team.
Erin, a center, should see time on next year’s Blue Knights roster despite the program taking a major hit once the new Bedford High opens next year. Colleen will leave her sister to play for the Bulldogs as a member of BHS’s first graduating class.
This season marks the first time the Murray sisters played on the same team, each saying the communication and comfort level was evident from the first practice.
“They work really well together,” said West girls coach Whitney Boucher. “You can see they know each other and are a strong pair. They’re probably the strongest pair we have, and it’s most likely because they’re sisters.”
Colleen leads a group of talented young players helping the Lady Blue Knights to a 6-5 record as of Monday, May 7. Jeff plays for the struggling 1-8 boys team. But under second-year head coach Joshuah Greenwood, the Blue Knights have shown strong development on defense and an offense that’s coming together despite 39 goals in nine contests.
“This year’s team is much better,” said Jeff. “We’re moving the ball around more, getting more things done right. I definitely feel better about this year’s team even though we have a losing record.”
But the losing record is something Erin won’t let her brother forget. Holding a “friendly bet” with Jeff’s teammate, Adam Lula, on whose team will finish with the better record, the older Murray sister keeps her siblings motivated.
Regular-season records aren’t the only sources of competition for the Murrays. Time in Jeff and Erin’s shared car and clothes coveted by both Colleen and Erin provide plenty of friction, said their mother, Nancy.
“Things end violently a lot,” said Nancy with a laugh. “They’re intense. Their fights are intense. Their laughs are intense. They keep things entertaining around here. There’s definitely a lot of competitive spirit going on.”
As for Nancy’s stance in the family debate, much to her son’s dismay, she admitted her preference is with girls lacrosse. With one possible ally in Mark Murray, Jeff posed the question to his father.
“I coached girls lacrosse for five years, but I would take a Division I men’s game over a women’s game,” said Mark. “This argument keeps things exciting, but it’s not going to be solved anytime soon. There’s always going to be something to battle with your siblings about.”