Colleen Smith, a former All-American defender at Princeton, has helped the Yale women's lacrosse team achieve unprecedented levels of success in recent years. The Bulldogs have made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals and won back-to-back Ivy League Tournament titles.
For their roles in the Bulldogs' recent accomplishments, Smith and fellow Yale assistant coach Molly Palella were recipients of the annual IWLCA Outstanding Assistant Coach Award in 2024.
In 2024 the Bulldogs set the school record for wins (17), including a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs also claimed their first outright Ivy League Championship (they shared the title in 1980 and 2003) by going 7-0 in league games during the regular season. They then won the Ivy League Tournament for the first time in school history. Yale was ranked as high as No. 1 in the RPI and No. 6 in the ILWomen/IWLCA national poll. The Bulldogs established school records for goals, assists, points, caused turnovers and draw controls. Smith worked extensively with Yale's defense, which ranked third nationally (8.35 goals allowed per game).
The Bulldogs have been building towards this level of success for several years. They have made four straight appearances in the Ivy League Tournament championship game. The Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 13 in the national poll in 2023. Their 2022 win total (11) was, at the time, their best since 2008. They tied what was the school record for Ivy League wins in a season (six) and earned a spot in the Ivy League Tournament for the first time. They went on to beat Cornell for their first Ivy League Tournament win. That season featured several other milestone victories, including the team's first win vs. Penn since 2004, the team's first win at Cornell since 2004 and the team's first win vs. Dartmouth since 2015. The Bulldogs earned a national ranking and broke the school records for goals and draw controls. The team's second-place finish in the Ivy League represented, at the time, its best finish in the standings since 2007.
Smith joined the Yale women’s lacrosse staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2016. In her first season she helped the program make strides, as the Bulldogs set school records for goals, points and draw controls in a season. They also beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2010. In her second season, the Bulldogs beat a pair of ranked opponents. In 2020, Yale was off to a 4-2 start before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancelation of the season.
Smith was a part of three NCAA tournament appearances at Princeton, including a 16-13 upset of No. 8 Penn State in her senior season (2014). That season she was named second team All-America, first team All-Mid Atlantic region, an ECAC All-Star and unanimous first team All-Ivy League. She also earned Princeton’s Connie McAllister Award and was a finalist for the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award, reflecting her work ethic and leadership skills.
Smith was co-captain of the Tigers in 2014, finishing second on the team in caused turnovers with 14 and adding 17 draw controls and 13 ground balls. The team limited Ivy opponents to just 7.64 goals per game (second in the league). She also tallied her first career point that year with a goal against No. 14 Georgetown.
After playing with the Timperley Lacrosse Club of Manchester, England, in 2014-15, Smith spent 2015-16 coaching at UC-Davis, working primarily with the defense. She helped the Aggies earn their first trip to the MPSF tournament in six years and their first winning record in conference play since 2000.
A Wilmette, Ill., native, Smith graduated from Loyola Academy -- the same high school as Palella. She majored in psychology at Princeton.
