Satara Murray’s ready to shut it down for H-Town

Satara Murray is a perfect combination of a great resume meeting elite talent. The defender excelled for NCAA powerhouse North Carolina and in England with Liverpool FC before arriving with the Houston Dash and on the pitch, she’s able to lock down opponents and create offense from the backline with her passing and confidence dribbling forward. Murray is ready to use her experience and her expertise to help turn things around for the Dash.

From Carolina Blue to Liverpool Red

In 2012, Satara won the NCAA title and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. She would go on to be named an All-American in 2014 during her time as a Tar Heel. After that exceptional tenure at UNC, Murray earned the opportunity to begin her professional career with one of the most notable soccer clubs in the world: Liverpool FC.

Discussing her time at Liverpool, Satara told BGN, “It was amazing. I didn’t know what I was stepping into when I signed to be quite honest with you, but once I arrived, I knew there was something truly special about that club and city. Getting an opportunity to wear that badge proudly for 4 years was something that I will never forget!” Funny enough, Murray was not a part of the club’s massive fan base before she arrived. “I am a supporter now,” she said. “I will not disclose who I supported before then because I will get some hate for it, but I definitely became a supporter throughout my time there and will be one forever.”

Brooklyn Born but Texas Made

Murray would leave Liverpool to return to Texas, where she was raised, in 2019. She signed with the Houston Dash and arrived ahead of last season. In nine matches, she tallied 14 interceptions and four key passes. Next up, Satara will be leading the Dash defense into the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup. “Since entering 2020 I have had the mindset that I wanted this team to achieve a level of success that we haven’t before, so we are definitely amped about going into Utah with a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” she said. After finishing 7th on the table in 2019, the club will need to step up to make noise in the summer tournament. “Cohesiveness, I think has got be our biggest improvement,” Murray said. “Everyone being on the same page will make us that much better than last year, and that is definitely something we are currently working on now during pre-season.”

While she was raised in Austin, Texas, Satara was actually born in Brooklyn, New York. Both areas have rich histories in the music industry, so where does her allegiance fall? She answered, “That is (a) great question, I would say musically I am going to have to go with Texas. Of course, Biggie is always up there, but also I really like Lil Kim and Styles P. from New York. And of course from Texas, I love Lil Flip, Beyonce, and Meg The Stallion. Beyonce and Meg the Stallion are definitely some mainstays on my Spotify for sure. Wouldn’t be a playlist without them!”

Still Kickin’ in 44

Throughout her journey from Texas to Chapel Hill to Liverpool and back to Texas, Satara’s always had a unique jersey number: #44. “I have had this number since I was 11,” she explained. “It was my mom’s age at the time, and all of the girls on my club team wanted to wear the same numbers as some of the 99ers (the historic USWNT 1999 team), and I wanted to be my own person, so I asked the one person who is the center of my world what her age was and the rest is history.”

Proud of Her Background

As Satara prepares for the upcoming NWSL action, she is also dealing with the turmoil in this country as the injustice and oppression of Black people has risen again to the forefront with the killing of George Floyd. “This is worst I have been mentally. I am exhausted and sad, but above all of that, I am hopeful. I am hopeful that we will see change and we will continue to demand justice for the things that are going on in this country,” she said.

She participated in a peaceful protest as you can see in the post above. The systematic oppression is not new and, sadly, it will likely impact the next generation as well. Satara has a message to a young black girl that may be looking up to her at a time like this. “To the young black girl, you are a queen, you are beautiful, and you are loved,” she said. “I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t have to experience these injustices and make sure you are gifted every possible opportunity there is out there. I will keep fighting for you.”

Murray’s background is uniquely diverse. She has the ability to represent five different national teams: Antigua and Barbuda, England, Guyana, Jamaica, and the United States. Despite her success at UNC and as a professional, Satara’s international career has only included some U-23 call-ups with England. Would she consider switching her allegiance to one of the smaller countries listed rather than wait for a call-up from England or the USWNT? “I am at (the) age now where I am just focusing on being the best possible version of myself on and off the field, and with that, I am just hoping things fall into place the way they’re supposed to,” she answered. “If playing on a national team is in my future, then it will happen, and if it isn’t, that’s totally fine because I am still getting an opportunity to play this game at the highest level while still paving the way for the next generation to come.”

Her next chance to show off her skills will be when the Dash face NC Courage on July 1st in the Challenge Cup. You can see Houston’s star defender and the rest of the squad compete throughout the tournament live on CBS All-Access.

Carson A Merk

Reporting live from Sin City, I have covered both RGVFC and Las Vegas Lights FC since their inceptions. I also write profiles to highlight players from the NCAA to USL to NWSL and everywhere in between.