Everything You Need To Know About The WLL

The new lacrosse era has arrived.

After the creation of League One Volleyball and the Professional Women’s Hockey League, it’s time for lacrosse to get a women’s professional league. The announcement of the creation of the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL) happened on Nov 13.

The WLL will work as a partner of the Premier Lacrosse League. The general idea behind its creation comes from the inclusion of lacrosse in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games schedule.

The format of the league will be the same as the Olympics: sixes. The modality is fast-paced and high-scoring, with each team of six players. There is a 30-second shot clock in the eight-minute quarters.

The teams

The league will be composed of four teams.

If there are sports, New York will be involved. The New York Charging will have Izzy Scane as their team captain. The Northwestern alumna, a program known for its history with lacrosse, will be reunited with five other former Wildcats.

Talking about reunions, Syracuse alumni Meaghan and Emma Tyrrell will play together on the team. The older Tyrrell, Meaghan, graduated as the leading point-scorer in program history. Two other players who played for the Orange, Emily Hawryschuk and Megan Carney, will join the sisters on the Charging.

The Maryland Charm will be led by Alex Aust Holman. On the command of coach Taylor Cummings, an experienced team might give the advantage to the Charm. Holman has been playing for over team years in international and professional tourneys.

Abby Bosco is set to be a key piece in the defense. The two-time IWLCA All-American and 2022 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year played her collegiate career in Maryland. She will play alongside Megan Whittle, who also made history in the program, ranking sixth all-time scorer in the NCAA.

The only team from the West Coast, the California Palms, will have its captainship in Ally Mastroianni. The former North Carolina midfielder is one of the fastest players in the league. She will play alongside eight other Tar Heels.

In the goal, the Palms will be in good hands. Kait Devir and Taylor Moreno are two the netminders for the team. Moreno was a 2021 Tewaaraton Award finalist and Goalkeeper of the Year.

Charlotte North will be the leader of the Boston Guard. The Boston College alumni will be the captain of the team, staying in the city that she transferred to after playing her first two collegiate seasons at Duke. North was the first player in the NCAA to achieve the 100-goal mark in a season.

The Dallas native will be joined by four other players who played for the Eagles, including netminder Rachel Hall. Another school that stands out is Notre Dame with four players on the team.

The team will be guided by head coach Laurie DeLuca, former goaltender at the University of Delaware and the director of NXT Lacrosse.

The schedule

The new league will work alongside the PLL in its schedule. The Lexus Championship Series is scheduled to happen from Feb 11 to 17.

The season opener and first game of the round-robin will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Maryland Charm faced the New York Charging.

On Wednesday, the season opener for the Guard and Palms begins at 9 p.m.

The matchup against the Maryland Charm and Boston Guard will happen at 9 p.m. Thursday. On Friday, the California Palms and New York Charging will face each other for the first time.

An exciting Saturday is set with back-to-back matchups to fill your afternoon before the Super Bowl Sunday. The Charm will face the Palms at noon and 2:30 p.m. New York and Boston will compete.

The three higher-ranked teams will move on to the semifinals. The second and third places will play against each other, while the first seed will directly move on to the finals. This will take place at 10:30 a.m. Feb 16.

Finally, the Championship winner will be crowned at 11 a.m. Feb 17.

Sofia Miranda is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact her, email szc6483@psu.edu.