WASHINGTON, DC -- University of Delaware junior midfielders Alex Smith and Jordan Hall have been officially listed as candidates for the Tewaaraton Trophy, the highest honor bestowed in NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse.

Smith, a midfielder from Timonium, MD (Boy’s Latin High School), and Hall, a midfielder from Surrey, British Columbia (Fleetwood Park High School), were among 52 players named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Pre-Season Watch List this week. Delaware was one of only 12 schools to have more than one player mentioned on the list. The list of candidates for the women’s award will be announced next week.

The trophy, the equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy, has been awarded each June since 2001 by the University Club of Washington, DC to the top male and female varsity lacrosse players in the United States. Johns Hopkins midfielder Kyle Harrison was the recipient of the men’s award last year.

Hall and Smith, who each earned United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association honorable mention All-American honors a year ago, are already off to a good start, leading Delaware to a 2-0 record entering Saturday’s home opener vs. Yale. Hall sat out the opener vs. Saint Joseph’s due to a hamstring injury but returned for last week’s 10-9 win over Lehigh and contributed an assist. Last year’s Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, Hall tallied 29 goals and 18 assists a year ago to lead the team with 47 points.

Smith (at right), the top faceoff specialist in the nation, has had a quick start this year. Last year’s NCAA leader with a faceoff success rate of 70.9 percent, he already has won 32 of 41 attempts this year for a 78 percent success rate. He also leads the team with 20 groundballs. Smith also earned first team All-CAA honors a year ago and was the 2004 CAA Rookie of the Year.

Others named to the watch list are: Harry Alford, Joe Walters, and Bill McGlone of Maryland, Matt Russell, Bill Looney, Steve Looney, Jon Birsner, and Ian Dingman of Navy, Stephen McElduff and Ryan Blair of North Carolina, Joe Boulukos and Matt McMonagle of Cornell, Jesse Schwartzman, Kevin Huntley, Greg Peyser, Paul Rabil, and Jake Byrne of Johns Hopkins, Joe Canuso of Villanova, Matt Eckerl and Casey Cittadino of Towson, Scott Sowanick, Peter Trombino, and Dan Cocoziello of Princeton, Jamie Coffin of Dartmouth, Greg Cohen of Harvard, Brian Crockett and Greg Rommel of Syracuse, Kyle Dixon, Kip Turner, Matt Ward, and Mike Culver of Virginia, Nick O’Hara, Matt Danowski, Matt Zash, and Tony McDevitt of Duke, Greg Downing of Fairfield, Reyn Garnett of Georgetown, Wes Green of Adelphi, Greg Havalchak of Rutgers, Patrick Heim of Penn State, Ryan Hotaling of Nazareth, Dan Kallaugher of Yale, Matt Madalon of Roanoke, Jack Reid and Sean Morris of Massachusetts, Brett Moyer of Hofstra, Brendan Mundorf of UMBC, Travis Tarr of LeMoyne, John Walker of Army, and Pat Walsh of Notre Dame.