Dennis Township native Bobby Smith competed for the University of Notre Dame in the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse National Championship game versus Duke in Baltimore, May 31.
The Blue Devils won a thrilling 6-5 sudden death battle in the lowest scoring title game in NCAA lacrosse history.
Notre Dame, 10-7 and unseeded, upset three ranked squads to reach a championship game that included five ties. It was the Fighting Irish’s first lacrosse championship appearance.
Smith, a 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore, used strong athleticism to aid the Irish from his long-stick midfielder position.
“He has a knack for making plays,” said Irish coach Kevin Corrigan. “He’s very good with the ball in his stick.”
The son of Jeanne and Frederick Smith, Bobby played nine games during his freshman season. He tallied one assist and three ground balls a season ago. He made his Notre Dame debut in a 19-7 victory over Dartmouth in 2009, a game in which he also scooped up a ground ball.
Smith scooped a ground ball in the Irish’s 10-4 triumph over Air Force last season and assisted on a goal in Notre Dame’s 10-2 victory at Quinnipiac. He rounded out a solid first season by collecting a ground ball in his team’s 16-7 decision tournament finale over Ohio State.
This season he scooped three ground balls and registered one assist.
The Lawrenceville School graduate was named New Jersey Prep Player of the Year in 2008. He was an Under Armour All-American and combined to earn seven letters in lacrosse and ice hockey at Lawrenceville
His high school lacrosse squad won back-to-back state titles during his sophomore and junior seasons and the team was nationally ranked during both of those campaigns, including an undefeated 20-0 in 2006. Over two seasons, Smith’s squad registered a gaudy 37-1 mark which made them two-time conference champions.
Inside Lacrosse magazine named Smith one of the “Top 50 Rising Seniors in the Nation” in 2008 a season, which also found Smith, named to the Nike Blue Chip Top 114 lacrosse team.
Smith’s hockey prowess as a forward led him to be chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers’ Keith Primeau to be on the New Jersey Prep Hockey All-State Team. Lawrenceville’s hockey team won the Empire Cup during Smith’s junior season.
A versatile performer, Smith competed in water polo during his freshman season in Lawrenceville.
He is enrolled in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and maintains a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.
Reach Rossi at joerossi61@comcast.net
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