West Babylon's Smith leads Northwestern

To break up the tedium of those long bus rides, the Northwestern women's lacrosse team stages impromptu singing competitions, arbitrarily picking out pop songs for various players to sing with coaches acting as judges.

"When I was a freshman, I got up in the front of the bus with one of my teammates and we sang 'Wannabe' by Spice Girls," recalled Northwestern senior attack Shannon Smith of West Babylon. "Amazingly, we won! It's those memories, those experiences, that you'll remember. Every friend I've made on this team is a friend for life."

Smith is no wannabe. She is the real deal, one of the greatest players in the history of the nation's top women's lacrosse program. Smith, last season's Tewaaraton Award winner as the nation's top player, has helped the Lady Wildcats win two titles in the last three years; they've won six of the last seven.

"It's an honor to play for this program,'' she said. "When we're dressed in purple Northwestern athletic gear, you can see that people respect you and respect what the program stands for."

It stands for dynastic excellence that is expected to continue this year. Northwestern, with Smith and six other Long Islanders in the starting lineup, is the overwhelming choice to win another national championship, with the NCAA women's Final Four being played, fittingly enough, at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium for a second straight year.

Maryland, which ended NU's five-year reign with an upset in 2010 and lost to the Lady Wildcats, 8-7, in last year's title game, is a strong No. 2.

"As a senior class, our motivation is that it's our last few months together and we know there are teams out there that want to take us down," said Smith, who put on a show for the home folks last Memorial Day weekend.

She scored the winning goal with 18 seconds left in the semifinals against North Carolina (ranked No. 3 this year) and the eventual game-winner against the Lady Terrapins during a four-goal effort. "We're a bunch of competitive kids that work hard," she said. "Winning another national championship would be phenomenal, and it would be that much more special to do it again on Long Island."

The Long Island Connection that has helped keep Northwestern on top of its sport starts with Smith, who scored a school-record 86 goals last season and is a reachable 57 goals away from the NU career record. "If I get any individual records, it's just icing on the cake," said Smith, who has been accepted into Hofstra's master's program in education and wants to teach and coach high school and youth lacrosse on Long Island. "It's all because of my teammates. It's the journey that's special."

Also taking the journey with Smith are All-American candidates Brianne LoManto (G, Rocky Point) and Lacey Vigmostad (D, Northport) as well as starters Jessica Russo (A, St. Anthony's), Kara Mupo (A, Rocky Point), Erin Fitzgerald (M, Mount Sinai) and Alyssa Leonard (D, Bay Shore).

"I've played with or against these girls since the sixth grade. We're best friends. I knew them before I came here," Smith said, noting that the Long Island girls lacrosse community is "small but very tight" because of summer leagues and travel teams. "This is all big time, and to go to college with your friends from back home is very cool."

And Northwestern is where they all wannabe.