Smith named candidate for 2019 Senior CLASS Award
9/23/2019 3:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After a success-filled four years with the Lehigh men's soccer program both on the field and in the classroom, senior goalkeeper Will Smith has been named one of just 30 candidates in the nation for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, as announced on Wednesday. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Forrest is one of just two candidates from the Patriot League and Lehigh men's soccer's third in the last three years following Mark Forrest (2018) and Justin Worley (2016).
Smith has seen immediate academic success at a prestigious institution in Lehigh's College of Business and Economics. Lehigh is currently tied for 53rd nationally in the U.S. News and World Report list of top national universities. As a finance major, Smith has experience in his area of interest, recently interning at a boutique asset management firm called DT Investment Partners, where he served as a junior investment analyst and operated asset allocation optimization software to define portfolio efficiency for prospective clients.
Though he already was considered a leader by his teammates as a four-year starting goalkeeper, Smith was named a co-captain captain for the 2019 Mountain Hawks and has shown his leadership on both the field and throughout the university. While at Lehigh, Smith has been actively involved with Lehigh's Flight 45 program, Lehigh Athletics' Leadership Academy in the Emerging Leaders program, which educates sophomore and junior student-athletes regarding how to lead by example, develop relationships with teammates and gain the credibility to lead their team vocally while actively supporting the efforts of current team captains.
As a captain and successful member of the team, Smith's strong character has been displayed through his time dedicated to weight-training, skill work, practice, team meetings, conditioning and studying film. His character is a testament to his dedication to his craft.
Like so many of his teammates and other student-athletes at the university, Smith has been a part of many efforts within his Lehigh community. He has joined his teammates in going to a local elementary school for the Reading Rocks program, in which a different Lehigh Athletics team every week spent approximately one hour with the students, assisting with their reading before playing games with the children. In addition, Lehigh men's soccer, along with every Lehigh Athletics team annually takes part in Adopt-A-Family, through which the Mountain Hawks provide a holiday for an underprivileged family. A member of the Student Athlete Council (SAC) for three years, Smith was in charge of collecting the money, buying the gifts and presenting them to the selected family each year. Along with Lehigh fraternities, sororities and other departments, the event itself has raised up to $30,000.
Smith has seen great success as the Mountain Hawks' starting goalkeeper over the previous four seasons. As of September 23, 2019, Smith had played in 54 games with 53 starts, compiling over 4,800 minutes between the pipes. As a freshman in 2016, Smith made 10 starts with a 1.23 goals-against average and 42 saves, including two shutouts. As a sophomore in 2017, Smith started in all 18 of Lehigh's contests with a 10-6-1 record, four shutouts and a GAA of 1.26. He subsequently led the Patriot League in Goalkeeper of the Week awards with three. The 2018 campaign was Smith's best to-date, as he started a career-high 19 games with a career low 0.81 GAA. He led the Patriot League with nine shutouts and a save percentage of .814. During his stellar season, he once again racked up three Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors and was named a second-team All-Patriot League selection. As of now, Smith already had registered three shutouts with a goals against average of 0.83. For his career, Smith has recorded a shutout in 18 of his 54 games.
During the summer before his junior year, Smith played for Reading United AC, a USL League Two team affiliated with the Philadelphia Union of the MLS. He trained with Bethlehem Steel FC in USL Championship, as well as the Philadelphia Union for two weeks.
The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men's College Cup ® championship in December.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Forrest is one of just two candidates from the Patriot League and Lehigh men's soccer's third in the last three years following Mark Forrest (2018) and Justin Worley (2016).
Smith has seen immediate academic success at a prestigious institution in Lehigh's College of Business and Economics. Lehigh is currently tied for 53rd nationally in the U.S. News and World Report list of top national universities. As a finance major, Smith has experience in his area of interest, recently interning at a boutique asset management firm called DT Investment Partners, where he served as a junior investment analyst and operated asset allocation optimization software to define portfolio efficiency for prospective clients.
Though he already was considered a leader by his teammates as a four-year starting goalkeeper, Smith was named a co-captain captain for the 2019 Mountain Hawks and has shown his leadership on both the field and throughout the university. While at Lehigh, Smith has been actively involved with Lehigh's Flight 45 program, Lehigh Athletics' Leadership Academy in the Emerging Leaders program, which educates sophomore and junior student-athletes regarding how to lead by example, develop relationships with teammates and gain the credibility to lead their team vocally while actively supporting the efforts of current team captains.
As a captain and successful member of the team, Smith's strong character has been displayed through his time dedicated to weight-training, skill work, practice, team meetings, conditioning and studying film. His character is a testament to his dedication to his craft.
Like so many of his teammates and other student-athletes at the university, Smith has been a part of many efforts within his Lehigh community. He has joined his teammates in going to a local elementary school for the Reading Rocks program, in which a different Lehigh Athletics team every week spent approximately one hour with the students, assisting with their reading before playing games with the children. In addition, Lehigh men's soccer, along with every Lehigh Athletics team annually takes part in Adopt-A-Family, through which the Mountain Hawks provide a holiday for an underprivileged family. A member of the Student Athlete Council (SAC) for three years, Smith was in charge of collecting the money, buying the gifts and presenting them to the selected family each year. Along with Lehigh fraternities, sororities and other departments, the event itself has raised up to $30,000.
Smith has seen great success as the Mountain Hawks' starting goalkeeper over the previous four seasons. As of September 23, 2019, Smith had played in 54 games with 53 starts, compiling over 4,800 minutes between the pipes. As a freshman in 2016, Smith made 10 starts with a 1.23 goals-against average and 42 saves, including two shutouts. As a sophomore in 2017, Smith started in all 18 of Lehigh's contests with a 10-6-1 record, four shutouts and a GAA of 1.26. He subsequently led the Patriot League in Goalkeeper of the Week awards with three. The 2018 campaign was Smith's best to-date, as he started a career-high 19 games with a career low 0.81 GAA. He led the Patriot League with nine shutouts and a save percentage of .814. During his stellar season, he once again racked up three Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors and was named a second-team All-Patriot League selection. As of now, Smith already had registered three shutouts with a goals against average of 0.83. For his career, Smith has recorded a shutout in 18 of his 54 games.
During the summer before his junior year, Smith played for Reading United AC, a USL League Two team affiliated with the Philadelphia Union of the MLS. He trained with Bethlehem Steel FC in USL Championship, as well as the Philadelphia Union for two weeks.
The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men's College Cup ® championship in December.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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