LI's Shannon Smith wins Tewaaraton Award
Northwestern attacker Shannon Smith looks for an opening during the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse final at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium. (May 29, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
What an incredible week it's been for Shannon Smith.
The Northwestern junior, by way of West Babylon High School, won the Tewaaraton Award as the top player in NCAA women's lacrosse Thursday night at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The sport's highest individual honor came just four days after Smith led the Wildcats to the sport's highest team honor, the NCAA Division I championship. Smith scored four goals, including the eventual winner, in Northwestern's 8-7 victory over defending champion Maryland last Sunday at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium.
"This award is because of my teammates -- they make me a better lacrosse player and they make me want to be a better person," Smith said at the Warner Theater after the award was presented. "I love every one of them so much, and the award belongs to them."
Smith did her part to earn it. The all-time leading scorer (729 points) and goal-scorer (505) in New York state history netted a school-record 86 goals for Northwestern in 2011, and led the country in scoring with 128 points. Smith's goal with 18 seconds left gave the Wildcats an 11-10 victory over North Carolina on May 27 to earn the trip to Stony Brook.
"These past two weekends have been unreal," Smith said. "Right now I'm living a dream."
Steele Stanwick of NCAA champion Virginia won the men's Tewaaraton Award after a terrific postseason in which he scored 21 points in four games.
Cornell junior Rob Pannell of Smithtown West, who was voted USILA player of the year, was considered the front-runner for the Tewaaraton entering the postseason. But Virginia upset Cornell, 13-9, in a quarterfinal game at Hofstra on May 21, with Stanwick totaling three goals and four assists.
Stanwick and Pannell are juniors who should compete for the Tewaaraton again next season.
