Shannon Smith, a junior at Northwestern University, has won the 2011 Honda Sports Award in lacrosse, designating her as the nation’s top collegiate female athlete in that sport. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 35th year. Smith’s win marks the sixth time that a Northwestern University lacrosse player has been honored with the Honda Sports Award. Previous Honda Sports Award winners from Northwestern University for lacrosse include: Kristen Kjellman (2005, ‘06, ‘07) and Hannah Nielsen (2008, ‘09).

Noted Smith, "I am so humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award. I owe everything to my teammates. Receiving the Honda Sports Award would not have been possible without the 28 of them along with the world's best coaching staff here at Northwestern University. The game of lacrosse has offered me so much in my life and I would not be where I am today without it. This year has been an amazing ride and I am very glad to have the trophy back in Evanston."

Smith, a native of West Babylon, NY, is recognized as one of the best offensive players in the nation. She led the Wildcats to the NCAA championship this year, scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal in the national semifinals and championship game. She is the Division I leader in points per game (5.57), and ranks fourth nationally in goals per game (3.74). She was named MVP of both the NCAA and American Lacrosse Conference Championships.

Smith set a new Northwestern single-season goal record last season with 86 goals and was ranked second in all-time single-season points (128). Her 128 points on the year ranks as the seventh best ever in Division I play. She was a recipient of the Tewaaraton Award this year and scored at least four goals in all five post-season games, with 18 total in the NCAA Championships, the second best ever for a single tournament. She tied her career-best single-game record last season with seven goals in a 12-11 win over Stanford and posted only the third 10-point game in Northwestern University history in a win over Georgetown. She will begin her senior season ranked sixth in career points (268), seventh in goals (184) and tied for fifth in career assists at Northwestern (80). She is a two-time WomensLax.com National Player of the Week and three-time ALC Offensive Player of the Week.

Smith is majoring in economics with a minor in business institutions. She holds a 3.02 GPA and was a 2010 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.