Cheryl Murtagh joined the Saint Anselm field hockey coaching staff in the spring of 2022.
Murtagh graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1981 with a degree in Physical Education and was the head coach at Northeastern University for 30 years from 1988-2017 before retiring from the position. She guided the Huskies to 10 America East Conference titles and 16 NCAA tournament appearances, including three Final Fours.
Murtagh has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at both UNH (Class of 2000) and Northeastern, as well as the Springfield Hall of Fame.
As a UNH field hockey player, Murtagh garnered All-America recognition in 1979 and 1980 and led the Wildcats to a two-year record of 26-7-5. She was then selected to play for the National Elite Squad – comprised of the nation’s top 30 players – before she began her coaching career at now Bentley University, in 1982.
Including two years as head coach at Bentley, Murtagh amassed 407 victories in 32 years. She recorded 382 career victories and was a seven-time NFHCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year at Northeastern. In her tenure, NU players garnered 41 All-America accolades and 106 Northeast Region Team honors.
In addition to collegiate coaching, Murtagh has worked with the U.S. National Program for more than 20 years. She has served as an assistant coach with the national team as well as head coach of a gold-medal winning Under-21 Team.
Most recently, Murtagh served as the Technical Director for the UNH field hockey program for three seasons from 2019 through 2021.
