UT Plans Alumni Game, Memorial Service For Nicole Murphy

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa women's soccer program has announced plans to honor the family of Nicole Murphy at its alumni game.

The game, which is scheduled for Aug. 21 at 3:30 p.m., will also serve as a fundraiser for the Murphy family. The public is welcome to attend in support of the Murphy family and will take place at Pepin Stadium.

The team is also planning a private memorial service for Nicole Murphy prior to the game. The service will include members of the Murphy family and the UT women's soccer family. Media is also welcome to attend.

Murphy, a 2008 graduate and four-year starter for the women's soccer team, was killed in a hit and run accident in South Africa on June 15.

A member of the 2007 national championship women's soccer team, Murphy was in South Africa with her family for the World Cup. She graduated from UT magna cum laude in May 2008, and was a member of the UT Honors Program.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our former standout, Nicole Murphy," says head coach Gerry Lucey. "We will have the opportunity to celebrate her time at UT and the lives she has affected here. We would love to see this game well supported as a fundraiser for the Murphy family. They have incurred huge costs in bringing their children back from South Africa and this will hopefully make a dent in their bills. Nicole's family will be coming down here to support her UT family and we are looking forward to the weekend, knowing full well it will be a tearful celebration of Nicole."