At the end of Q1, it's Cats 5, Fighting Eyewash 2.
ND started with 2 quick goals, then we got off the bus to score five in a row.
ND started with 2 quick goals, then we got off the bus to score five in a row.
NU-ND lacrosse
- Thread starter ubercat
- Start date
Lauren Gilbert is an Irish assassin
with 7 goals. And time for more. Lady Cats up 14-10 in 2nd half. Go Cats!!!!! GOUNUII
Any Wildcat W over ND is a great win. Especially when we go there and put a slobberknocker like this on them.😊😊😊
whooo hoooo …. Go Cats!!!!!
Irish women’s lacrosse fall to 5-22 all time vs Northwestern.
Sort of off topic, but the attorney whose office is next to mine informed me that a good friend of his has a daughter who is a freshman on the Northwestern Lacrosse Team. When he gets back from his current travel to Boston I will have to get more details.
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OK, here is the scoop on the Northwestern recruit from Mill Valley California (Tamalpais H.S.)
Madison Smith
"Madi is a strong, physical midfielder with a great handle on her stick. A true workhorse between the 30s, her ability to win draws and come up with 50/50 balls was a difference maker. Her fast hands and quick release make her a consistent goal scorer." - Inside Lacrosse Aug 2, 2021Madison "Madi" Smith's bio
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Thanks Alaska, but I'm a bit confused. The only Smith on the NU lacrosse roster is named Samantha Smith from Mill Valley California Tamalpais H.S. Must be the same person, and she's been terrific thus far.
Adding to the confusion, I located this article highlighting another named Smith from Mill Valley California Tamalpais High School - "Sam" Smith.
I can confirm that the Sam Smith subject of the article is in fact our Northwestern freshman player who goes by Samantha in College. The article makes reference to a sister who also plays lacrosse. So if not siblings, they must be one and the same person. ( I have gone back and added a link to the prior post which contains Madison "Madi" Smith's recruitment bio.)
The below linked article mentions Sam Smith's parents as having been notable athletes at their schools which matches the same information as to their schools and sports that was initially provided to me - so without question the Northwestern Freshman player Samantha Smith is a daughter of my colleague's good friend.
Sam Smith a/k/a Samantha Smith
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If the above link doesn't reach the article, here are some relevant quotes:
"It’s a huge commitment,” Smith said. “My summer going into my junior year, I was home for five days of the entire summer. My sister is going through that same thing right now. I’ve seen her like twice this summer.”
Smith’s recruitment is now over — she’s signed to play Northwestern, one of the top college programs in the country — but even this summer she still has a few cross-country trips lined up before she leaves for college in September.
Arguably her biggest one is the Under Armour All-American game on July 31 at Johns Hopkins. Smith is one of 44 of the nation’s best high school seniors to be selected for the game. She’s the only player from the select group from California and is only one of two players from west of the Mississippi.
Smith is also only the second player from Marin to be selected for the game, now in its 16th year, the first being Novato High star Charlie Rudy, who was selected in 2018.
“I’m super excited about it,” said Smith. “I’m really excited to play against all these girls that are some of the best in the country and who I’m going to be playing against in future years in college.”
The Under Armour All-American team was announced about two weeks ago, and since then more honors have rolled in for Smith. She’s also been selected to play in the Adrenaline All-American game, featuring the top players from the West, and learned earlier this week that she was chosen as a USA Lacrosse All-American and a USA Lacrosse All-Academic honoree.
It was first-year Tam girls lacrosse coach Taylor Spray who nominated Smith for the Under Armour honor. In her one season playing for Spray, Smith scored 34 goals and dished out 20 assists in just 14 games for the Red-tailed Hawks. Before her junior season was canceled by the pandemic, Smith was also a First-Team All-MCAL selection as a sophomore and a Second-Team selection as a freshman.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Spray said of Smith’s Under Armour nod. “She’s one of those players that you don’t come across everyday. She is equal parts natural, extreme athletic ability and heart.”
Part of that natural athleticism stems from Smith’s family. Her dad Mike, who coached Tam before Spray took over, played lacrosse at the University of Virginia, while Smith’s mom, Karen, ran track at UVA. Smith also played basketball for Tam and dabbled in soccer when she was younger.
But for all her natural talent, Smith also put in the hours to become one of the best lacrosse players on the West Coast.
“She played wall ball — playing catch with yourself I guess you could say — for hours everyday,” Spray said. “She played with her sister everyday. She was early to every practice, stayed late shooting, just because she loved it. I mean she played all year round with her travel team and her high school team — usually she’s on the travel team and the high school team at the same time — and don’t forget, she also plays basketball.
“She is one of the most athletic people I’ve ever met in my entire life but also she loves lacrosse. When you put those two things together, she’s just a different player.”
Smith’s talent was forged and refined on the travel circuit playing for the elite club team the Tenacity Project, which, according to its website, has over 400 alumni playing in college. The club pools all the best players from Northern California and offers them a chance to travel and go head-to-head with the country’s top talent.
“Being able to play on a team that actually travels to places where lacrosse is so much more competitive and play these teams where these girls have been playing since they were like two-years old was really an incredible opportunity and helped my game a ton,” Smith said.
Theresa Sherry, Smith’s coach for her Tenacity Project team, said that Smith is a great example of someone who fully commits to the process. She was a good player when she joined Tenacity at the end of eighth grade, but put in the time and transformed into a top-tier college recruit.
“What it takes to come out of an area like Northern California is a lot of work on your own,” Sherry said. “Sam has always done the fitness and the extra technical work on her own — the strength and conditioning, all of it — to be able to hang with the best physical specimens on the East Coast.”
Smith will only continue to face the best of the best in the coming years at Northwestern. The Big Ten is considered one of the more talented conferences for the sport in the country and Northwestern is one of its historically better programs. The Wildcats own seven national titles, the second-most in NCAA women’s lacrosse history, with the last coming in 2012.
“She has such a high skill level that I think that even at Northwestern, which is about the highest skill level that you can find, she will thrive,” Spray said. “I think she thrives in the ultra-competitive, push-me-harder environments and I think that she will get a ton of playing time as a freshman, which is extremely rare.
“I think that people should really watch her career because I think that she could really, really be one of the greats in women’s lacrosse.” "
"It’s a huge commitment,” Smith said. “My summer going into my junior year, I was home for five days of the entire summer. My sister is going through that same thing right now. I’ve seen her like twice this summer.”
Smith’s recruitment is now over — she’s signed to play Northwestern, one of the top college programs in the country — but even this summer she still has a few cross-country trips lined up before she leaves for college in September.
Arguably her biggest one is the Under Armour All-American game on July 31 at Johns Hopkins. Smith is one of 44 of the nation’s best high school seniors to be selected for the game. She’s the only player from the select group from California and is only one of two players from west of the Mississippi.
Smith is also only the second player from Marin to be selected for the game, now in its 16th year, the first being Novato High star Charlie Rudy, who was selected in 2018.
“I’m super excited about it,” said Smith. “I’m really excited to play against all these girls that are some of the best in the country and who I’m going to be playing against in future years in college.”
The Under Armour All-American team was announced about two weeks ago, and since then more honors have rolled in for Smith. She’s also been selected to play in the Adrenaline All-American game, featuring the top players from the West, and learned earlier this week that she was chosen as a USA Lacrosse All-American and a USA Lacrosse All-Academic honoree.
It was first-year Tam girls lacrosse coach Taylor Spray who nominated Smith for the Under Armour honor. In her one season playing for Spray, Smith scored 34 goals and dished out 20 assists in just 14 games for the Red-tailed Hawks. Before her junior season was canceled by the pandemic, Smith was also a First-Team All-MCAL selection as a sophomore and a Second-Team selection as a freshman.
“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Spray said of Smith’s Under Armour nod. “She’s one of those players that you don’t come across everyday. She is equal parts natural, extreme athletic ability and heart.”
Part of that natural athleticism stems from Smith’s family. Her dad Mike, who coached Tam before Spray took over, played lacrosse at the University of Virginia, while Smith’s mom, Karen, ran track at UVA. Smith also played basketball for Tam and dabbled in soccer when she was younger.
But for all her natural talent, Smith also put in the hours to become one of the best lacrosse players on the West Coast.
“She played wall ball — playing catch with yourself I guess you could say — for hours everyday,” Spray said. “She played with her sister everyday. She was early to every practice, stayed late shooting, just because she loved it. I mean she played all year round with her travel team and her high school team — usually she’s on the travel team and the high school team at the same time — and don’t forget, she also plays basketball.
“She is one of the most athletic people I’ve ever met in my entire life but also she loves lacrosse. When you put those two things together, she’s just a different player.”
Smith’s talent was forged and refined on the travel circuit playing for the elite club team the Tenacity Project, which, according to its website, has over 400 alumni playing in college. The club pools all the best players from Northern California and offers them a chance to travel and go head-to-head with the country’s top talent.
“Being able to play on a team that actually travels to places where lacrosse is so much more competitive and play these teams where these girls have been playing since they were like two-years old was really an incredible opportunity and helped my game a ton,” Smith said.
Theresa Sherry, Smith’s coach for her Tenacity Project team, said that Smith is a great example of someone who fully commits to the process. She was a good player when she joined Tenacity at the end of eighth grade, but put in the time and transformed into a top-tier college recruit.
“What it takes to come out of an area like Northern California is a lot of work on your own,” Sherry said. “Sam has always done the fitness and the extra technical work on her own — the strength and conditioning, all of it — to be able to hang with the best physical specimens on the East Coast.”
Smith will only continue to face the best of the best in the coming years at Northwestern. The Big Ten is considered one of the more talented conferences for the sport in the country and Northwestern is one of its historically better programs. The Wildcats own seven national titles, the second-most in NCAA women’s lacrosse history, with the last coming in 2012.
“She has such a high skill level that I think that even at Northwestern, which is about the highest skill level that you can find, she will thrive,” Spray said. “I think she thrives in the ultra-competitive, push-me-harder environments and I think that she will get a ton of playing time as a freshman, which is extremely rare.
“I think that people should really watch her career because I think that she could really, really be one of the greats in women’s lacrosse.” "
OK, I confirmed. Siblings it is. Hopefully younger sister Madi is on the Wildcats' recruiting radar.
