Women's Lacrosse | 7/14/2021 11:12:15 AM
Russell Sage College’s Department of Athletics has announced the selection of
Megan Smith (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) as the new head coach of the women’s lacrosse program. Smith arrives at Russell Sage after serving as the assistant women’s lacrosse coach and assistant media relations director at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Smith arrives at RSC after serving as the assistant coach for two seasons with the UW-La Crosse women’s lacrosse program in 2020-21. She also served as an assistant media relations director for the Eagles.
Smith commented on her selection, “First off I would like to thank Sandy and the committee for trusting me to take over this program. It is an honor to be the next head women’s lacrosse coach at Russell Sage.” Smith added, “Between the great academic and athletic reputation here I know it is the right fit for me. I am beyond excited to be back in the Northeast, where there is such a depth of lacrosse talent. I look forward to leading the team not only athletically but academically and I am ready to compete in the Empire 8 conference and take this program to the next level. I am very grateful for this opportunity and I cannot wait to get started with the team and Go Gators!”
Director of Athletics Sandy Augstein-Collins noted, “I am thrilled to announce Megan Smith as our new Women’s Lacrosse Coach!” She added, “I am excited to see the growth of our women’s lacrosse program under her guidance. Megan’s first charge will be recruitment of team members and establishing a culture of excellence within the women’s lacrosse program.”
UWL finished 1-5 in 2019-20, its first varsity season of competition. The Eagles played their first game on February 29, 2020 at Carroll University (WI) and earned their first win in program history on March 8, 2020 with an 18-9 victory over Anderson University (IN). The program also produced a 5-6 mark in 2021 along the way during their second varsity season.
Smith arrived at UWL after serving as an assistant lacrosse coach at State University of New York at Fredonia since August 2018. She assisted with all aspects of the program with the Blue Devils. Prior to going to SUNY Fredonia, Smith was an assistant lacrosse coach at Hilbert College for one season.
She earned her bachelor's degree in sports management from Medaille College in 2017 and earned her master's degree in sports administration from Canisius College in 2019. Smith was a volunteer assistant lacrosse coach at Canisius in 2017. She also coached with the Orchard Park Central School District from 2012 to 2020.
Smith was the lacrosse team captain at Medaille in 2016-17. She played in 33 career games for the Mavericks while being named to the 2016 All-North Eastern Athletic Conference Second Team. Smith, who served as the SAAC Club President at Medaille, scored 120 career goals while recording 12 assists for 132 points in her career. She also collected 95 draw controls and 37 caused turnovers. She attended Hilbert for two years, serving as lacrosse team captain in 2014-15 and earning MVP honors. Smith was selected for Team USA for the Prague Lacrosse Cup in 2015.
Russell Sage earned the program’s first Empire 8 post-season berth and had several team members also garner acclaim on the playing field and in the classroom over the course of the 2020-2021 academic year. Smith becomes the program’s fifth head coach after the program commenced varsity play as a Division III member in 2009.