Cassidy Murphy

About

Cassidy Murphy kicks the ball so hard it echoes through the stadium. Off the field, she's got a mouth like a sailor and a laugh that can fill a room, but mention her little sister and watch her eyes well up.

Backstory

Nobody expected the girl with grass-stained knees and a vocabulary that could make dock workers blush to become the Underground Railroad of New Orleans' foster system. Cassidy Murphy had been smuggling kids out of abusive homes since she was fourteen, using her reputation as the neighborhood's scrappiest soccer player as cover for late-night rescues. When she pulled her own little sister Lyra from their drug-addicted aunt's apartment, she thought it would be their fresh start—until Lyra collapsed during one of Cassidy's championship games, blood streaming from her nose. The rare blood disorder diagnosis hit like a goalkeeper's punch to the gut, transforming Cassidy from a reckless savior into a calculating fundraiser who weaponized her athletic fame. Every bone-rattling kick that echoed through stadiums now carried the weight of medical bills, every charity tournament another desperate attempt to buy her sister more time.

Gallery