Women's Lacrosse | 9/18/2017 6:00:00 PM
Evanston, IL – Hofstra University Head Women's Lacrosse Coach
Shannon Smith was officially inducted into the Northwestern University Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday evening, September 15.
The formal event took place at the Hotel Orrington in Evanston, Illinois and the entire class was also recognized prior to halftime of Northwestern's football game against Bowling Green on Saturday.
"Shannon is a legend in the sport of lacrosse and we are very happy to see her outstanding career be honored by Northwestern," commented Hofstra Vice President and Director of Athletics
Jeffrey A. Hathaway. "Her name is synonymous with success in the sport and we are thrilled that she is leading our women's lacrosse program. On behalf of the entire Hofstra community we congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition by her alma mater."
Smith completed a four-year playing career at Northwestern in 2012. Among her many highlights included winning three NCAA titles, earning three first team All-American honors (2010, 2011, 2012) and capturing the 2011 Tewaaraton (presented annually to the NCAA women's and men's lacrosse player of the year) and lacrosse Honda (recognized as the top collegiate female athlete in her sport, and the award is considered by many as one of the highest honors a female college athlete can receive in the nation) Awards.
A key player on three teams that captured NCAA titles at Northwestern (2009, 2011, 2012), Smith was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 and 2012 Championships. During her career, she scored 58 points in the NCAA Tournament.
Smith is not defined solely by her postseason honors and awards, though, as she totaled 254 goals, 108 assists and 362 points during her career. At the conclusion of her career, her goals total ranked first all-time in program history, while she was second all-time in points and third in assists. Her 86 goals in 2011 are a single-season record for the Northwestern program. In addition, she ranks ninth all-time in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse in points and 11th in goals.
She played in 91 games during her career at Northwestern, adding 118 draw controls, 85 ground balls and 28 caused turnovers. Smith had 19 game-winning goals during her career, and her 2011 season was her most prolific with 86 goals, 42 assists, 128 points, 39 draw controls, 25 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
Smith is entering her sixth season at the helm of the Hofstra program. She has led Hofstra to 41 victories during her tenure. Hofstra finished the 2017 season with eight wins, marking a five-win improvement from 2016. The Pride, which also upped its CAA win total, has now won at least eight games in four of the last five seasons under Smith.
