Marquette University Men's Lacrosse Prospect Clinic

Roberts came to Marquette after two seasons at Holy Cross and one as the director of operations for the Lafayette men's lacrosse program. At Lafayette, Roberts handled alumni relations, social media, special events, on-campus recruiting, camps and clinics, team logistics and analytics for games and practice.

Prior to his time at Lafayette, Roberts worked as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Clark University. Roberts was a four-year member of the Clark University lacrosse team and served as team captain as a senior.

Roberts graduated with his bachelor of arts degree in management and a master of science degree in professional communications at Clark in 2019.

One of the primary culture drivers behind the team’s early successes, Richard was hired as an assistant coach in 2017 under Joe Amplo and helped MU repeat as BIG EAST Champions.

Richard plays as a defensive midfielder for Atlas LC of the Premier Lacrosse League. He has been a consistent member of Team USA's training team over the last few years. He was named to the 23-man Team USA roster for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship in San Diego and won a gold medal with the American squad.

In his first season as an assistant coach, Richard helped the Marquette defense remain among the nation's best as the Golden Eagles replaced three USILA All-Americans. The MU defense allowed 9.31 goals per game in 2017 on its way to a second-straight BIG EAST tournament title and another appearance in the NCAA Championship.

At Marquette, Richard was a two-time team captain and helped lead the Golden Eagles’ unprecedented rise to national prominence in just four short seasons, culminating in their first BIG EAST Conference title and NCAA Championship appearance in 2016. The USILA Third Team All-American was one of just four All-America selections and three MLL draft picks in program history at the time of his graduation and was the only short-stick defensive midfielder named All-BIG EAST in 2016 with second-team recognition.

“I know Coach Smistad will inspire our team to be the best version of themselves off the field while pushing them to new heights on the field,” head coach Jake Richard said at the time of the hire in July 2025. “Surrounding our athletes with men worth emulating is paramount to our mission. Throughout the interview process Coach Smistad showcased a specific vision for our offense. He’s excited to introduce new ideas while creating continuity and building off the momentum from last year.”

Smistad was a member of the MU program for three years and served as team captain during the first two seasons of intercollegiate competition (2013-14). He played in nine games during the 2013 campaign for the Golden Eagles as a defensive midfielder and suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason of his final season.

Smistad has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He helped the Bobcats to a 9-7 record in 2025, while working primarily with the Bates offense.
He began his collegiate coaching journey after serving as head coach of the Calgary Shamrocks, a Canadian Junior box lacrosse team in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League's Junior B Tier I league. Joining the program as an assistant coach in 2016, Smistad was promoted to co-head coach in 2018 and served in that capacity before taking over the head job exclusively in 2020.

In 2019, the Shamrocks became the fourth team in Alberta's history to win the Founders Cup national lacrosse championship.

Smistad is former BIG EAST All-Academic selection and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Smistad was a 2014 draft pick by the Calgary Roughnecks in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). He joined former teammate Tyler Melnyk that season as the first Golden Eagles to be drafted by a professional league.

The native of Calgary, Alberta first arrived at Marquette in the fall of 2011 after two seasons at Presbyterian College, which ended its men’s lacrosse program after the 2011 season.

Andrew is married to former MU women’s volleyball player Courtney Smistad née Mrotek, and the couple has one son, Theo.