By Mylie Norton, Staff Writer
Women’s professional sports have been increasingly gaining the recognition they deserve on all levels. From recognizing the amazing talents and teams at the collegiate and professional levels, women’s sports are being talked about now more than ever. This has led to a surge in viewership, endorsements, and popularity amongst different sports, giving women a larger platform.
“What encourages me as a female athlete is the motivation to be pushed, as well as the people around me,” junior student-athlete Tessa Orgonas said.
From recognizing athletes like Caitlin Clark, a female basketball player for the Indiana Fever, to the launch of the professional Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), girls are getting to see the sport they have grown up playing on the big screens.
The Women’s Lacrosse League in particular, is a much-anticipated addition to the women’s sports cycle.
“I’m so excited for this league,” junior student-athlete Julia Trainor said, “I’ve been watching men’s lacrosse for so long (PLL) and I’ve always imagined if women’s lacrosse was around when I was a young girl how much more experience I would have gained from that,” she explained.
The WLL was announced in late 2024, which is big news for the lacrosse community. Although there have been previous professional leagues for female lacrosse players post-college, they were never taken too seriously and lacked financial backing. Now, with the introduction of the WLL, post-graduate female lacrosse players have the opportunity to showcase their talent in a 6v6 league. The series of games will follow the same guidelines that will be implemented in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The games will feature some of women’s lacrosse top players such as Charlotte North, Izzy Scane, Alex Aust, and Taylor Cummings and teams will reside in four major lacrosse hot spots; Maryland, New York, Boston MA, and California.
“I’m really excited for the Boston team because I’m from Boston,” Trainor said, “It creates a new dream for female college athletes and is another aspect that they get to strive towards.”
The introduction of this new league follows the existing Professional Lacrosse League (PLL), designated for professional men’s lacrosse players. The PLL has been successful in bringing greater awareness to the game of lacrosse, ensuring that the women’s league will be off to a good start.
“The aspect of growing the game and lacrosse community is so exciting, especially for young athletes who get to look up to and cheer these professionals on,” Orgonas said.
The first-ever WLL game will debut on Feb. 11 in Springfield VA. The Maryland Charm, coached by one of the University of Maryland’s top alumni, Taylor Cummings will face The New York Charging. Weapons such as Northwestern’s, Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall and Syracuse’s Meg Carney, and sisters, Emma and Meg Tyrell will be on full display.
Follow along on ESPN and social media to watch the historic journey of the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League.
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