Eva Murphy never had a day off during the winter and spring sports seasons.
The junior started at midfield as the Canton girls soccer team shut out Brighton 2-0 in the season opener Wednesday at Brighton Fieldhouse.
Seven days ago, she started in the backcourt at the Division 1 girls basketball regional championship.
Have the Chiefs found a way to slow down five-star freshman Sydney Savory, one of the nation's top-ranked recruits? Perhaps Canton heads to Breslin Center this week and its football team could have started the season without one of its most returning defenders.
Sadly, the Tigers defeated Canton 61-23 and Murphy only missed a few preseason practices.
“It’s really tough,” the second-year starting pitcher said. “When we lost to Belleville on Wednesday, I was at practice on Thursday. It was really quick. Once basketball is over, the transition to football is the quickest ever.”
Officially, Murphy participated in four practices before the opening game.
And she was needed because the Chiefs wanted to make a statement in their first West Division game against the Kensington Lakes Activities Association. Not only did they want to go into spring break with a win, but they also wanted to set the tone before facing Northville, the defending league champion and this spring's state title contender, on April 2.
Murphy's play near the penalty area resulted in a corner kick, setting up the Scarlet Neuechterlein for an assured goal and sealing the win with just over 13 minutes remaining.
“She missed the tryout, but that was it,” said coach George Easter, who gave Murphy a pass after arriving late from basketball. “We weren't worried about that because we knew she was a good fit for the team. Last year, she wasn't originally a starter, so she took a chance to earn a spot. But , she quickly qualified and…
Murphy is one of several returning players from last year's 11-5-5 team. In fact, the Chiefs only graduated a senior year from that team that won a district championship and played for a regional title.
But Canton was probably the most heartbreaking playoff loss for a Michigan team in 2023.
With less than 90 seconds left in the second overtime period, goaltender Campbell Appert was given a yellow card in the penalty box. So Saleen not only had a penalty kick chance to win it all, but Apert's backup, Julia Tasker, was forced into a called substitution in an attempt to save the Chiefs' season.
more:Canton State women's basketball ends Michigan State's Miss Basketball finalist Madison Mawson's career.
Of course, the Hornets made the most of their opportunity and won 1-0 in the district final.
Apert clinched the victory for Canton with 85 seconds left in the penalty shootout.
The loss served as motivation for the Chiefs' returning players.
And it showed early on against Brighton.
In fact, the Bulldogs earned a penalty kick with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. This time, Tasker was ready and waiting for the ball to go over the crossbar.
And 27 seconds later, after Canton turned the field over, Kayla Rankin responded and scored the winning goal.
From a playoff final ending in a penalty shootout to starting the season with a final penalty kickback, what a way to end the season.
And Murphy was lucky enough to be a part of it.
“It felt really good,” she admitted. “I guess it's just good karma.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metropolitan Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on Twitter @folsombrandonj.