Kansas State adds New Zealand international and St. Louis DA product to signing class

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Kansas State soccer head coach Mike Dibbini has added transfer goalkeeper and New Zealand National Team member Murphy Sheaff, along with freshman Morgan Struttman to the 2023 roster.

Sheaff played her freshman season in 2022 at Jacksonville, where she played in 13 matches with eight starts and tallied 893 minutes of action. She led the nation in save percentage at .902 and notched 55 saves on 61 shots on goal. Sheaff was 17th in the nation and second in the Atlantic Sun Conference for goals against average with a 0.605 effort and allowed just six goals in her 13 appearances.

In her time with the Dolphins, Sheaff tallied a 4-2-4 record and was a part of 10 shutouts and credited with five. She did not allow a goal in her first six appearances of the season, a stretch of 329 minutes of game action. In consecutive matches, Sheaff tallied a season-best 11 saves as she stopped 11 of 12 shots on goal at Austin Peay on October 6 and then stopped all 11 shots on goal at Lipscomb on October 9. Following this performance, Sheaff was named the ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week.

The product of Sunshine Coast, Australia, was called up and named to the active squad for the New Zealand Women’s National Team in a pair of friendlies against the U.S. Women’s National Team in January in preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in July hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Sheaff had previous experience as a New Zealand national team member, as she started all three matches for the Junior Football Ferns in the 2022 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica and helped the squad to a pair of draws against Mexico and Colombia in pool play.

Struttman is a decorated forward from Liberty High School in Lake St. Louis, Missouri, and plays club soccer for St. Louis Development Academy with future K-State teammate Anna Pagano. She concluded her career with the Eagles as the program’s career leader for points (213) and assists (63). She also tallied 75 career goals with Liberty High School. During the 2023 season, Struttman notched 24 goals and 16 assists for her third straight season with 50 or more points (64).

In her junior season in 2022, Struttman set a career-high with 31 goals and dished out 19 assists for a career-high 81 points. For her efforts, Struttman was named the 2022 Missouri Class 4 Region 2 Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the 2022 Missouri Class 4 All-State First Team.

At the end of her sophomore season in 2021, Struttman set the school record for assists in a season with 24 and tallied 17 goals for 58 points. She was named to the 2021 Missouri Class 3 All-State Second Team and was chosen for the Missouri Class 3 Region 2 squad. She is a three-time All-GAC First Team selection.