OSU grad Murphy earns national university MVP award

Ottawa South United player Robbie Murphy, a third-year striker for the University of Guelph, was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport player of the year in men’s soccer.


Murphy beat out fellow Ottawa native Andrew Rigby – a former Ottawa Fury PDL midfielder and the Atlantic conference\’s player of the year for the national bronze medalist Cape Breton Capers – for the honour, along with Samuel Georget of Laval and Saskatchewan\’s Jerson Barandica-Hamilton.

Murphy became the first-ever Gryphon to claim the Joe Johnson memorial trophy, two years after becoming the first Guelph player to merit CIS rookie-of-the-year honours.

In only three seasons at Guelph, Murphy has already established himself as one of the best players in Gryphon history. This fall, the 6-foot, 174-pound team captain led OUA with 16 goals in 14 conference games en route to his third straight selection as an OUA West all-star – including a pair on the first-team – and his first nod as an all-Canadian.

His strong play helped the Gryphons to third place in the OUA West standings with a 10-4-2 mark – up from 5-8-3 a year ago. Guelph then earned its first playoff victory since 2003, a 4-2 win over Brock, before dropping a 2-0 decision to eventual conference champion McMaster in the quarter-finals.

The accounting student, who in only three seasons became the Gryphons’ all-time leading scorer with 31 markers, comes from an athletic family. His father played football for the University of Ottawa, while two members of his extended family were professional athletes. Mike Murphy was a member of the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders and Frank Finnigan won the Stanley Cup with the Ottawa Senators of the NHL.

“Robbie is a true professional in everything he does. His dedication to the team both on and off the field is second to none,” said Guelph head coach Keith Mason. “He is a great leader and one of the most talented goal scorers I have met, and his 16 goals this season helped contribute to the Gryphons’ best season in over 20 years. He was the most valuable player in every sense of the word.