The brand-new professional Women's Lacrosse League (WLL) made its official debut this week just outside of Washington, DC, where its first-ever game saw the New York Charging take down the Maryland Charm 14-13 in the WLL Championship Series.
After the inaugural Tuesday result, the action continued on Wednesday, when the California Palms opened their WLL account by getting the better of the Boston Guard in a tight 16-15 matchup.
Founded and run by the Premier Lacrosse League, the WLL fosters top-level competition as the sport gears up for its 2028 Olympic return.
The four-team WLL Championship Series follows an Olympic-style "sixes" format. Unlike traditional lacrosse, which uses a larger pitch and 10 athletes per team, sixes employs a condensed field with six players per side.
In the Championship Series, teams are first competing in three round-robin games to determine semifinal seedings. The tournament will culminate with the knockout semifinal and final rounds on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
WLL looks to level up lacrosse ahead of 2028 Olympics
Despite the competition's quick turnaround, the WLL represents a growing professionalization movement in women's lacrosse — with all involved betting big on the sport's Olympic success in LA.
When lacrosse steps back onto the Olympic stage in 2028, it will have been 80 years since its last 1948 outing — and even then, it was merely a demonstration event. The last time the sport earned medals was in 1908.
Furthermore, the sport's entire Olympic history rests in the men's game — 2028 will see women take the Olympic lacrosse pitch for the first time ever.
"We are honored to be a part of the WLL, and we couldn't be more excited to bring this game to the fans in new ways than ever before," said Boston Guard star Charlotte North in a league statement.
"We firmly believe that this is the beginning of what will be a monumental movement in the game of professional women's lacrosse, and for female athletes around the globe.... It's our time."
How to watch the WLL Championship Series
The tournament's round-robin play continues with the Maryland Charm facing off against the Boston guard at 9 PM ET on Thursday, before the California Palms contend with the New York Charging at 6 PM ET on Friday.
All WLL Championship Series games will stream live on ESPN+, with Sunday's and Monday's knockout rounds airing live on ESPN2.
Athletes Unlimited lacrosse has a new sponsor.
With less than 50 days until the start of its inaugural lacrosse season, the professional sports league announced a multi-year partnership with Nike Lacrosse.
Nike Lacrosse will now be the official supplier of uniforms, footwear, sticks and protective equipment for Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse. Coaches, staff and volunteers will also receive apparel and footwear as part of the agreement.
Additionally, Nike Lacrosse will also support Athletes Unlimited Futures, a program for elite middle and high school athletes “aimed at cultivating and connecting today’s young female lacrosse players.”
The inaugural lacrosse season is set to take place at Maureen Hendricks Field in the Washington, D.C. metro area from July 23-August 22 featuring 56 of the sport’s top athletes.
As part of its inaugural lacrosse season, Athletes Unlimited announced today their main broadcast and streaming partners for the 30-game season.
Taking place at Maureen Hendricks Field in Boyds, Maryland, the season will run from July 23 through August 22.
Games will be broadcast and streamed across CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports, Facebook and YouTube.
CBS Sports Network will air seven games, including each week’s matchup of the top two teams by draft order as well as the final game of the season on Championship Sunday, August 22.
Of the games, 15 will be broadcast on FOX Sports, with 11 games being featured on FS1 and four games on FS2. Lastly, eight games will be live-streamed on AU’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
All games will be played on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday competition schedule.
As part of their commitment to the growth of the league, Athletes Unlimited has assembled a Media Advisory Board composed of industry leaders and former players to offer strategic guidance and best practices.
Additionally, Athletes Unlimited announced its first College Draft, during which 13 graduating college seniors will be invited to join the league. Draftees will be unveiled Tuesday, June 8 at 12 p.m. ET during a video presentation on Facebook and YouTube.
Joining AU athlete @tcummings_21 on our Media Advisory board is @SJCrennan (@YahooSports), @awhilary (@SC30inc), Libby Bush (Tandem Entertainment), @ekucharz (@DraftKings), Emily Leitner (@NFLFilms), Dan Levy (@Wasserman), @NickMiaritis (@VaynerMedia), & @nyerr (@sbnation)! 👏
— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) June 1, 2021
Athletes Unlimited is heading to the nation’s capital.
Following the success of their softball and volleyball seasons, the league announced the location for its inaugural lacrosse season Wednesday in a video posted on Instagram:
The league will be heading to Maureen Hendricks Field in Boyds, Maryland where competition will take place from July 12 until August 22.
The league will also host more than 600 elite middle and high school players as part of a three-day National Summit. Held July 26-28th the Summit will offer “advanced training and competition by players and top coaches.”
“Athletes Unlimited is thrilled to host our inaugural lacrosse season and Athletes Unlimited Futures National Summit featuring the sports future stars near our nation’s capital this summer,” said Jon Patricof, Co-Founder and CEO of Athletes Unlimited, in a press release. “We look forward to showcasing the biggest names in lacrosse for our fans in the DC metro area and around the world.”
Currently, 13 U.S. National Team Players are confirmed to compete in the league, including Meg Douty, Taylor Cummings and Kayla Treanor. Teams will be formed similar to both the softball and volleyball seasons, with a draft being held each week to determine teams.
“We are excited to be competing in the mid-Atlantic region which has such a rich history in lacrosse,” said Cummings.
Broadcast networks and streaming partners are to be announced in coming weeks. Previous partners include CBS, ESPN and FOX Sports.