Coaches Hired to Lead Lacrosse Teams

Westminster College in Fulton, MO announced today that it had hired Benjamin Murphy from Vienna, WV and Kristi Crowley from Ashland, WI to lead its new men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.

Murphy, who will coach the men’s team, comes to Westminster after two seasons from Ohio Valley University where he served as defensive coordinator/specialists coach and graduate assistant.  Prior to coaching at the collegiate level, he served as assistant coach at the high school level, and in 2012 he was named Boys Assistant Coach of the Year by the Kentucky Lacrosse Association.  He holds competitive experience at the NCAA Division III and Division I levels, beginning his college career at College of Mount St. Joseph before transferring to play three seasons for the University of Kentucky Wildcats.  He also holds six years of experience as a certified lacrosse official.

Crowley, who will coach the women’s team, has served as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Northland College in Ashland for the past year.  Her previous experience includes serving as graduate assistant women’s lacrosse coach and overseeing games management and compliance at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and serving as the assistant women’s lacrosse coach at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY.  During her college years, she was a four-year NCAA Division I athlete, playing for the Liberty University Women’s Lacrosse team in Lynchburg, VA and at St. Bonaventure University in Oneonta, NY.

Westminster has launched a nationwide search for 15 men and 15 women student athletes to play for its  lacrosse teams, which will take the field in the 2017 spring semester.  Those interested in trying out should contact Coach Tracey Braden at BradenT@westminster-mo.edu or at 573-592-5345.

Westminster College’s lacrosse teams will begin as a club sport with the goal of becoming intercollegiate NCAA Division III over the next few years.

“The NCAA has labeled lacrosse as an upward trending sport nationally and in recent years we have seen it become an up-and-coming sport for young people throughout Missouri,” said Westminster Director of Athletics Matt Mitchell. “With lacrosse, we are expanding the opportunities for Westminster’s student athletes and future student athletes, and establishing a national platform for our athletics program.”