Cheryl Murtagh - Technical Director - Field Hockey Coaches - University of New Hampshire Athletics

Cheryl Murtagh

Title:
Technical Director

Cheryl Murtagh ’81 joined the University of New Hampshire field hockey coaching staff as a technical director in July 2019.

Murtagh, who graduated from UNH in 1981 with a degree in Physical Education, was a 30-year head coach at Northeastern University spanning the 1988-2017 seasons and guided the Huskies to 10 America East titles and 16 NCAA tournament appearances, including three Final Fours.

She has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at both UNH (Class of 2000) and Northeastern, as well as the Springfield Hall of Fame.

Murtagh and Balducci were on the Northeastern University field hockey coaching staff for three years (1988-90) with Balducci serving as an assistant coach before becoming UNH head coach in 1991. Prior to that, they were UNH teammates on the 1980 field hockey squad.

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 Bentley College in 1982.

Including two years as head coach at Bentley College, 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.