May 22, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Before heading off to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship hosted by Stony Brook later this week, Northwestern junior Shannon Smith and sophomore Taylor Thornton will sit down to answer your questions during a live chat on NUsports.com. The chat will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT Monday and can be accessed by clicking 'Play' on the Cover-It-Live interface below.
Media members and fans of all ages are encouraged to participate to hear from Shannon and Taylor on the season, lacrosse in general or a range of other topics to better get to know two of NU's top performers.
The 'Cats are coming off a dominating 18-4 quarterfinal victory over Albany Saturday night, during which Smith notched her fourth-straight five-goal game and Thornton added five ground balls and a coast-to-coast first-half goal.
Smith is a finalist for the 2011 Tewaaraton Award and is putting together one of the most prolific scoring seasons in Northwestern history. Her 119 points lead Division I and are tied for second all-time in a single year at NU while her 78 goals are the second-best in the school's single-season record book. The upcoming championship weekend is being played on her native Long Island where she set career scoring records for the state of New York with 505 goals and 729 points at West Babylon High School.
Thornton, a native of Dallas, was a first-team All-American Lacrosse Conference selection as well as one of 24 nominees for the Tewaaraton Award. Thornton is third on the team with 47 draw controls and has 14 goals on the year. Earlier this season, Thornton had a chance to play in the majestic home stadium of her hometown team, the Dallas Cowboys, when NU participated in the Dallax 2011 festival on March 19.
Northwestern's experience at its seventh-straight NCAA semifinal gets underway Friday when the 'Cats battle third-seeded North Carolina. NU clipped UNC back on Feb. 25 in Chapel Hill when Thornton came up with the game-winning goal in overtime, securing a 7-6 Northwestern victory.