Feb. 1, 2008

BERKELEY - Niall Murphy, a member of the U.S. national squad, joined the California field hockey coaching staff as an assistant coach, Golden Bears head coach Shellie Onstead announced today. Murphy's arrival gives Cal field hockey a coaching staff of four, including Onstead, assistant coach Kelly Knapp and volunteer assistant coach Peter Milkovich.

"The opportunity to work with a coach like Shellie Onstead and for a university with such a high-caliber reputation drew me to Cal," Murphy said. "I really look forward to bringing anything that I can offer to the table and to bringing the program to new levels."

Murphy previously worked for four years as a volunteer assistant coach with the women's team at Connecticut, his alma mater. The Huskies reached the NCAA Tournament in each of those four years (2003-06), getting as far as the semifinals in 2006. Last spring he served a six-month internship at Princeton that completed his education undergraduate degree. He was also a volunteer coach at USA Field Hockey's New England High Performance Training Center in 2005-06.

The Simsbury, Conn., product began training with the national team as a forward/midfielder in 2002 in Southern California. He has played in the USA Field Hockey Men's National Championships for the San Francisco Bay Area team and for Onstead, the team's head coach. San Francisco Bay Area placed second in 2006 and fourth in 2007 in the national tournament.

"I originally met Niall when I was coaching him on the regional team," Onstead said. "It's a good fit for him and for Berkeley. We've been trained under the same system, in terms of the national team umbrella. I'm excited. This is going to be a real boon for the program. To be fully staffed like this - with Kelly, Peter and now Niall - is a first and it's significant."

The Bears finished the 2007 season last fall with a 12-6 record and a share of the NorPac regular-season title with a 5-1 conference mark. The season ended with an appearance in the conference tournament final on Nov. 3. On Oct. 27, Cal upset then-No. 4 Michigan, 1-0, for its first victory against a top-five team in Onstead's 13-year tenure. Cal had three wins over nationally ranked teams in 2007, including 2-1 and 4-1 upsets of then-No. 20 Stanford.