Kendall Murray, the youngest of four sisters, prepares to follow in their footsteps on the lacrosse field

Olivia Selleck (8), Ella Gray (18) and Charlotte Duncan (5) surround Kendall Murray after Murray scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Londonderry on May 23.

Olivia Selleck (8), Ella Gray (18) and Charlotte Duncan (5) surround Kendall Murray after Murray scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Londonderry on May 23. Chip Griffin

Bow senior Kendall Murray carries the ball for the Falcons during their win over Londonderry.

Bow senior Kendall Murray carries the ball for the Falcons during their win over Londonderry. Chip Griffin / Photos By Chip

The Murray sisters. From left to right: Kendall, Makayla, Shannon and Amanda.

The Murray sisters. From left to right: Kendall, Makayla, Shannon and Amanda. Chip GriffinPhotos By Chip

The Murray sisters wearing their Bow lacrosse jerseys. From left to right: Amanda, Shannon, Makayla and Kendall.

The Murray sisters wearing their Bow lacrosse jerseys. From left to right: Amanda, Shannon, Makayla and Kendall. Courtesy

By ERIC RYNSTON-LOBEL

Monitor staff

Published: 05-31-2024 10:07 AM

There was unlikely ever a time in Kendall Murray’s life when playing lacrosse wasn’t her calling — even if she didn’t realize it right away.

Her three older sisters, Amanda (26), Shannon (23) and Makayla (21), all played in youth leagues growing up, as varsity players at Bow High School and subsequently in college. Kendall, now 18 and a senior at Bow, was around the game as young as 5 years old, watching her sisters play and sometimes running on the field to play with them, too. And now, she’s gearing up for her next challenge: playing NCAA Division II lacrosse at the University of New Haven.

She’s helped lead the Falcons’ varsity team on the field in her four years, a career that’s included Bow winning the Division III state championship last season. This year, the Falcons finished the regular season 15-2 and will play in the D-III semifinals against Gilford on Saturday in Laconia.

“She’s a great leader. It’s been super fun having her,” Bow head coach Chris Raabe said. “It’s going to be weird not having a Murray on the team. It was a long streak. It was Amanda and then Shannon and then Makayla and now Kendall. Lacrosse is in their blood.”

Murray always knew she wanted to play a sport in college. First, she thought, that the sport would be soccer. Then she saw Amanda play in college at Southern Connecticut State University, and the path ahead became much clearer.

She played club lacrosse and then at the high school as she continued to forge her own journey forward. Managing those expectations can be a challenge, though. Wanting to play college lacrosse is enough of a challenge as is; trying to do so in the shadow of your three older sisters can certainly add extra weight. But, Murray’s been sure to not let that overwhelm her.

“I can definitely be my own person,” she said. “We all have a different style of play, so it’s not like I’m exactly like them, and we’re all the same, and I just have to follow what they’re doing. I get to create my own story and get to go where I want to go.

“It’s definitely nice to be able to be my own person and kind of create my own story as well as be able to follow my sisters’ footsteps and be a lacrosse family together.”

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It was also immensely helpful, Murray said, to have the help from her siblings when it came time to embark on the college recruitment process.

“Amanda’s definitely my biggest role model. I look up to her a lot,” she said. “Once I saw Amanda (play in college), I knew that I definitely wanted to be able to be a part of something like that. And she did help me a lot with my recruitment process, with uploading all my videos and everything like that. She was definitely a big help with me.”

Amanda Murray knows what it must’ve been like for her youngest sister, constantly being dragged to her siblings’ games. But now is Kendall’s chance. At a recent game against Londonderry, Amanda made sure to make her support as noticeable as possible, showing up with a giant cardboard cutout of Kendall’s head.

“When I was a senior, Kendall was in fourth grade, so it’s nice to be able to see this program grow into what it is, and especially seeing my youngest sister now being a senior,” Amanda Murray said, “it just makes me feel very proud.”