Charlotte North didn’t have much time to reflect on her storied college career this summer. One month after North and Boston College fell to UNC in the NCAA lacrosse championship, a 12-11 thriller, the attacker was suiting up for Team USA at the World Championships in Maryland. And 12 days after winning a gold medal in that tournament, she started her pro career with Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse.

To North, the past few months have flown by. But she’s also tried her best to enjoy the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to play on the biggest stages of her career so far.

“I’ve tried to soak in every moment I could,” North told Just Women’s Sports this week. “I’m very fortunate that I’ve had an opportunity to continue to play with Athletes Unlimited and with the national team.”

It’s no surprise to see North getting this much exposure so soon after leaving Boston College.

In three seasons with the Eagles, she put together a resume that can be considered one of the greatest of all time. In 2021, she led BC to its first-ever NCAA title, tied the championship game record with six goals against Syracuse, was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and won the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s best lacrosse player.

Then, North came back this year and did nearly all of it again. With 92 goals on the season, North reached 358 for her career and surpassed Stony Brook’s Courtney Murphy as the NCAA’s all-time goals leader. She also became the fifth women’s player to win the Tewaaraton Award more than once.

The challenge of stepping right from the collegiate season into training camp with Team USA for the World Lacrosse Championships was not lost on North. But rather than get caught up in it, she embraced the experience head on.

At the World Championships, North led Team USA with 23 goals, which included five hat tricks and four games with four plus goals. She also finished the tournament tied for second on the team with 28 points.

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From there, like many playing Athletes Unlimited this season, North’s campaign has extended into August. As a rookie, she’s had to adjust to the league’s individual points system and rule quirks that make the game “super fast” and “very physical,” as she calls it.

“It’s a really fun format,” she said. “It is an adjustment, just because you’re hitting the highest level of lacrosse that could be played. And so it is physical, and you’ve got to prepare for that.”

A highlight for North has been getting to play alongside Boston College alums Sam Apuzzo and Kenzie Kent in different weeks. Both graduated before North joined the Eagles on a transfer from Duke.

“I looked up to them both for so long,” she said. “I got to play with them with the U.S., but also just being on their team here has been so much fun. It’s just been an incredible experience.”

As North matures as a player this summer, she’s also been a part of a broader shift in the sport. Lacrosse has been right at the forefront of viewership increases in women’s sports. This year’s NCAA final on ESPN peaked at 590,000 viewers, with an average audience of 428,000, making it the most-watched women’s college lacrosse game in history. The World Lacrosse Championships, fresh off a brand new deal, aired on ESPN’s networks, as has this season of Athletes Unlimited.

It’s that kind of exposure that North believes will continue to grow the game.

“When I was growing up, I mean, I would do anything to get my hands on college games and film and YouTube highlights. It wasn’t as easily accessible as it is now, which is amazing, especially on the women’s side,” she said.

“It’s just showing that once given the chance, there are so many people who are fans of the game, and it’s just growing exponentially.”

There is also hope that the growth of the sport at the collegiate, professional and international levels will spur lacrosse’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

“So many people are working extremely hard to get lacrosse to where it deserves to be, which is in the Olympics,” said North, noting that the Sixes format used internationally aligns more with the men’s game and gets everyone involved.

“I think a lot of people will turn their eyes to sport and become fans of it,” she added.

🚨CHARLOTTE NORTH WITH THE STEP-DOWN OT WINNER🚨@charlotteocho8 gets the winning OT goal AND a hat-trick🥶#AULax | 📺 : ESPNU pic.twitter.com/P9FhMQK5Hm

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) August 6, 2022

But before that potential opportunity rolls around, and before she returns to Boston this fall to finish her Master’s in Sports Administration and host a few lacrosse camps, North is focused on her final two Athletes Unlimited games this weekend.

Currently 13th on the AU leaderboard with 954 points, North leads the league with 25 goals. She is one of multiple rookies from the 2022 draft class to grace the top half of the leaderboard, led by Apuzzo (1,483 points) with two game days remaining before a champion is crowned. Lauren Gilbert, a rookie out of Northwestern, sits just ahead of North in the player standings but trails her on the scoring leaderboard by one goal.

“Ally Mastroianni (10th) and Emma Trenchard (20th) have both been just dominating,” North said when asked about her fellow rookies. “For them to continue to up their game and play at every level has been awesome. There are so many talented players. The Northwestern girls are very talented and Taylor Moreno has been crushing it. It’s been really fun playing with all of them.”

She also has her sights set on those coming after, with NCAA stars like Northwestern’s Izzy Scane and Syracuse’s Meaghan Tyrrell soon to enter the pro ranks. For the sake of the sport, North welcomes the competition.

“It’s so exciting for our game,” North said. “There’s so much talent here, there’s so much talent at the collegiate level. It’s awesome.”

Emma Hruby is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @EHruby.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.