Sometimes you can’t deny what you are. And by no means is Maura Murphy doing that.

But past all her lacrosse program records, her accurate shooting and her knack of making goaltenders feel sorry they ever stepped in net, the Southern New Hampshire University sophomore attacker wants to be remembered as more than just a scorer.

In less than two years with the No. 10 Penmen, Murphy has helped build a fledgling program into a contending power. She’s seeing the field better than she ever has, hitting open teammates and playing tougher defense.

A three-year captain under her coach and father, Bryon, at Pinkerton Academy, the Candia native “gets the whole team concept,” said SNHU coach Mary Squire.

“It’s not about getting the job done herself,” the fourth-year coach said.

Yet, when Murphy spins past a defender 25 feet from the net, slices through a blockade of opposing sticks and whips a shot past a goalie – that’s 77 career goals and counting following a 10-8 loss to Merrimack College on Tuesday, April 24 – she’s a scorer out there.

Just remember she’s not out there just to score.

“I think some people look to me as a finisher, but I just try to do as much as I can,” Murphy said Thursday, April 19, following a 12-9 win over rival Saint Anselm College, a game in which she netted four goals and added an assist.

“In high school, that was a big part of what I did, but when I came here, there are a bunch of people who can do that," she continued. "So having to play defense and contributing, it’s not just scoring but doing everything.”

So far, she’s had no problem with that. After scoring 46 goals and 56 points last season as a freshman – both program records entering Tuesday – Murphy has become one of the team’s most marked forwards this season. As a result, she’s worked on her individual moves to allow chances for both herself and her teammates.

Her eight assists put her on pace for the 10 she registered last year, but those totals don’t necessarily reflect her overall game, Bryon Murphy said.

They didn’t when she scored a program-record 229 career goals at Pinkerton, and they don’t now, when she ranks third with 39 points on a team that sits on the brink of even more program history.

At 8-3 and 6-2 in the conference with two regular-season games to play entering Thursday, April 26, the Penmen, in their fourth year, are in position to claim a top-four seed in the Northeast-10 conference tournament, a year after they made the playoffs for the first time and advanced to the semifinals.

Their No. 10 ranking in the latest IWLCA Division II national poll is also a first in program history.

Helping them get there were Murphy’s fellow sophomore attackers Jennifer Parro, with 53 points and 36 assists, and Libby Parent, with 49 points and 34 goals. They both rank in the top 10 in the conference in points per game, while Murphy, with 31 goals, does the same in goals per contest.

Yet, it was Murphy who was the most instrumental in leading the team to a 12-11 triple-overtime win over Bentley in last season’s NE-10 quarterfinals. Her “shining moment,” Squire called it, the then-rookie tied her own program record with six goals.

“I find that she pretty consistently saves her better games for better competition,” Bryon Murphy said, pointing out that as a freshman in high school, Maura scored six goals against Phillips Academy of Andover, Mass., a nationally-ranked team at the time, and five against Longmeadow, Mass., another quality program. “She relishes in that opportunity.”

She also knows she doesn’t have to do that every time. “We know we can sit it all on her shoulders. But when you can do that, if you have a player that has a bad game, you’re going to lose that game,” Squire said. “And she gets that.”