THE CROWD GREW BY THE CONCRETE RAMP at Stony Brook’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Long Island. It was four rows deep of polite, organized chaos.

The U.S. Women’s National Team  had just wrapped up a scrimmage against Athletes Unlimited, the sport’s pro league at the time. Stars aligned on both ends of the field. Each drew a smile and wide eyes when signing autographs for young fans.

But the chorus made it clear who they’d wait all night for.

Char-lotte, Char-lotte.

They were, of course, hoping to get an autograph from Charlotte North, the 2022 Boston College graduate who was just six days removed from winning her second Tewaaraton Award and leading the Eagles to another national championship appearance. Both were considered the pinnacle — the be-all, end-all, emphasis on end-all — of the sport.

North? She wasn’t done then, and she isn’t done now. She’s since gone on to win two gold medals with USA Lacrosse, start a successful broadcasting career and play a crucial role in launching the next professional opportunity for women’s lacrosse, winning a championship with the Women’s Lacrosse League’s Boston Guard and drawing Sharpie-wielding swarms similar to the one that day at Stony Brook.

Their chants continued at full strength from the LaValle Stadium parking lot 45 minutes after they began.

“Her legacy extended after college,” said Acacia Walker-Weinstein, who coached North at Boston College and is the national team coach. “Fans weren’t like, ‘Cool, on to the next college kid.’ It was like, ‘No, where’s Charlotte? That’s where I want to be.”

NORTH’S LEGACY BEGAN HUMBLY — in the sport and in her head. These days, she’s partly known for her big, exuberant celebrations after goals. However, her internal monologue often left her feeling small.

“I honestly just didn't have a ton of self-belief in my ability,” North said.

Her high school coach, Maggie Koch, countered North’s inner critic with the line, “Fake it ’til you make it.”

Part of North’s magic is her authenticity. But she was a late comer to lacrosse by modern standards, picking up a stick in seventh grade as a side hustle to basketball. Her Texas roots make a compelling story now, but they did not necessarily help her get recruited out of the Episcopal School of Dallas, where she graduated as the school’s all-time leader in goals (lacrosse) and points (basketball).

“We didn't travel to that many tournaments, so getting recruited was even more difficult,” North said. “I had only seen one or two players from our club, let alone from the state of Texas, commit to play Division I lacrosse instead of walking on.”

But Koch was an early believer.

“She had an insatiable appetite for the sport, which was incredible but genuinely not something I was expecting for a kid out of Dallas, Texas,” she said.

Koch concedes she’s biased — she’s known North since she was a tween and has seen sides of her most of us haven’t. But others who caught what was at the time a rare glimpse of North, the lacrosse player, were immediately drawn to her.

One was Dana Boyle, who is now often on the same ESPN broadcast team as North. Boyle found herself in Dallas in 2015 while working for the College Football Playoff. Another Dallas-area lacrosse expat, Molly Ford, an All-American at Georgetown, was coaching North in club lacrosse. She called Boyle to gauge her interest in coaching club and Ford’s high school team, Coppell, which played North and the Episcopal School each year. Boyle decided to check it out. North made an immediate impression.

“I see this girl on a field by herself just shooting,” Boyle said. “What stuck out to me was the creativity with her stick. I asked Molly Ford, ‘Who is that?' Our game hasn't seen a player like this — maybe Kayla Treanor and Michelle Tumolo.”

Unsurprisingly, Treanor and Tumolo were two of North’s earliest influences. Like many Millennial and Gen-Z laxers, she spent hours on YouTube watching the Syracuse All-Americans create highlight reels with their stick skills and creativity.

But North didn’t have the same panache. Even Acacia Walker-Weinstein openly admits she “missed Charlotte in recruiting.”

Another ACC program, Duke, did not, a credit to North’s Energizer Bunny-style desire to keep playing. She went to a tournament in Virginia and, on the last day, Duke’s coaching staff attended. They emailed Koch, inviting North to Durham.

“I’ll never forget it,” North said. “I absolutely loved the campus. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined that I was going to play Division I lacrosse, let alone in the ACC for a top program. It was a dream come true.”

STATISTICALLY AND INDIVIDUALLY, North put together dream freshman and sophomore seasons at Duke. She led the Blue Devils with 59 goals as a freshman, earning second-team All-ACC honors. She followed with an 82-goal sophomore season, putting her third in Division I in goals per game (4.32).

Yet, something was missing.

“After my sophomore year of college, I went home, and we missed the NCAA tournament, unfortunately,” North said. “For lack of a better term, that was the pinnacle of our sport at the time. I’d watched it for so long and dreamt of being there. I regrouped and met with people in my circle about the best plan. It was a hard decision to enter the portal.”

North is now changing that pinnacle. And the portal would change in the years to come, with players taking fifth years, desiring to be closer to family after pandemic-related mindset shifts or concluding, as North did, that their best chance to vie for a Final Four spot was elsewhere.

At the time, however, it was a risk to transfer, especially if she wanted to stay in the ACC. The conference required student-athletes to sit out a season if they left one school for another within the conference, rules that have since loosened.

But when the 617 area code popped up on her phone, North answered. It was Walker-Weinstein, architect of a BC team that had played in three consecutive NCAA championship games.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” North said. “They had just played in the national championship. Then, I got a call from Kayla Treanor. I went on a visit and met the staff and some of the players and saw how strong the culture was. I couldn’t believe I was being given an opportunity to play with them and be a part of that.”

From a lacrosse perspective, it was a no-brainer for the BC brass. The Eagles lost their top three offensive threats in Sam Apuzzo, Dempsey Arsenault and Kenzie Kent. North would help blunt the effect of those graduations while keeping them in the hunt for their first national title.

“When we played against her, our entire game plan was all about Charlotte,” said Apuzzo, who joined BC’s coaching staff after graduation. “She was electric.”

And while the decision to transfer was risky, in hindsight, it was also a no-brainer. For starters, North would have the opportunity to play for Boston College in 2020 after obtaining a waiver. But it started a ripple effect that turned Charlotte North into “Char-lotte.”

“When you talk about the good career decisions she’s made, the first thing that comes to mind is her decision to transfer,” said Kerry North, her father. “It was entirely her decision. We pressed her on it, discussed it at length and supported it. She knew in her heart it was the right place to go. She knew a whole lot better than her parents.”

North piled up 35 points in her first seven games at BC, but the season ended abruptly due to the pandemic. In 2021, she scored a then-Division I record 102 goals, corralled 174 draws and reached the then-summit of the sport. Boston College won its first NCAA championship in its fourth trip to the final, with North tying an NCAA record for goals in the championship game (six) against Syracuse. She was a first-team All-American and took home her first Tewaaraton Award.

THE FANS RETURNED IN 2022, even for a game they could’ve watched on ESPNU: the No. 1 vs. No. 2 bout between Boston College and North Carolina on March 20, 2022. The Eagles opened the gates to the football stadium and 5,937 people poured in for a regular season contest.

“That’s unheard of,” Walker-Weinstein said. “They were there to see our team, but Charlotte was the star. It was then that our school figured out what was going on. It was then that we realized there was something very, very special about Charlotte.”

Many fans stuck around after the game, as captured in a Bedford (Mass.) Youth Lacrosse video posted on social media. You see North, enveloped by fans in the Alumni Stadium tunnel after scoring four goals in the 16-15 Eagles loss. It was an unlikely arc for a player who once needed constant reminders to fake it ’til she made it.

“Going to games and seeing these kids and people who are just like ‘Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte,’ was overwhelming at first,” Koch said. “She’s like, ‘Who am I? I’m just Charlotte.’”

But that humility — something that early in life manifested in self-doubt and held her back — ironically is now a pillar of what makes North special. When asked about the crowds, the cheers and her enduring and growing legacy, North quickly brings up everyone but herself.

“It’s been great to be a part of some of the groups that pushed the sport forward to where it’s never been,” North said. “I was on a USA roster with Taylor Cummings, Kayla Treanor, Liz Hogan, Becca Block and Meg Douty. Then there’s Cindy Timchal, Acacia Walker-Weinstein, Gary Gait, Katrina Dowd. There are so many people who do so much behind the scenes to make our game more accessible, to provide equal resources and opportunities for women.”

Yes, these women paved the way for North, like Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes paved the way for Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, who then paved the way for Caitlin Clark. And media relations, compliance and other athletics department staff members promote players and advocate for fairness.

But North was and is a big part of the sport’s growing popularity and leveling the playing field for girls and women, too. The U.S. field team she was on? It won a gold medal, and she scored a team-high 23 goals in the tournament. Her replica jersey — No. 10 rather than her trademark "Ocho" No. 8, in deference to veteran defender Alice Mercer — was a top seller.

There was no more faking it.

“The crowds are special,” North said, reluctantly acknowledging her mass appeal with people from all walks of lacrosse. “At this stage of my life, I just feel so lucky that I’ve gotten to continue to play the sport in a place I never could’ve imagined.”

Nearly three years and another gold medal (in the inaugural World Lacrosse Women’s Box Championship) after the tunnel scene at Alumni Stadium, the “special” hadn't worn off North. On Feb. 15, 2025, cameras captured more Charlotte mania, this time as fans flocked to North after she led the Boston Guard to the first-ever WLL title at The St. James in Virginia. It became so chaotic that the fire marshal had to intervene. North continued to sign as many autographs and snap as many selfies as possible.

“Those are the bookends that show how her popularity started a while ago and has continued to build,” Kerry North said. “She’s charismatic and great with little girls, whether it’s her 3-year-old niece or a budding 18-year-old college athlete. She loved working with young players, and they gravitated toward her.”

Magnetic items don’t simply have a pull. Other items stick to them. It’s the same with people like North.

“It’s far more about the type of person she is,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She makes you feel loved and important. I’m a grown woman and still seek out Charlotte when I need a good conversation. Can you imagine what that does for an 8-year-old? She’s this immortal lacrosse player, but when you talk to her, she’s very mortal. She’s normal, attentive and present with you, listening when you talk.”

North’s true personality is in many ways in stark contrast to her on-field one, where she dares to take up space — and her public-generated one — as the “Caitlin Clark of lacrosse.”

“She's very expressive on the field,” Apuzzo said. “She has these great big celebrations. But when you get to know her, she’s a kind human being, the best teammate I’ve played with. She cares about who you are. She’ll ask, ‘How’s your family?’ She notices if you’re having a bad day.”

But Apuzzo knows from coaching North at BC and playing with her professionally and on the U.S. team that North is “a celebrity when she walks around. Everyone can recognize her.”

So, it makes it hard for North to have a bad day, knowing thousands of sets of eyes are on her in rockstar-sized crowds of autograph seekers and people watching games at home and in football stadium stands.

“It can be pretty taxing over time,” said Premier Lacrosse League co-founder and president Paul Rabil, who can relate to North’s rapid ascent and popularity. “People forget that she just played for two hours, sometimes lost the game, and is now signing autographs for hundreds of people meeting her for the first time. If you’re Charlotte North, the expectation is to make sure they get the best version of you for 30 to 60 seconds and that it’s an experience. It’s rare. She has a level of resilience in her off-the-field endeavors.”

Those endeavors crucially include social media. The Treanor/Tumolo YouTube highlight reel era has given way to fans of all ages going down Instagram and TikTok rabbit holes. (Even women’s soccer star Abby Wambach said she loves watching North’s videos). North has nearly 130,000 followers on those channels.

“We didn’t have social media when I played, so the visibility is much greater,” Boyle said. “But how awesome is it that Charlotte got to watch Kayla Treanor, Michelle Tumolo and Taylor Cummings in college, and now she’s creating her own version of a superstar?”

For North, it wasn’t luck. And for Rabil, having the game’s best player recognize the power of social — and use her platform savvily — was magnetic in its own right. A job with ESPN’s lacrosse broadcast team also gives North a platform to grow the game and generate content for wider audiences and is a departure from the coaching career ladder many star players climb.

“It was very apparent how talented she was when she was playing on television, won a national championship, catapulted into Team USA,” Rabil said. “But she has a full-time commitment and knack for promotion and content generation. All of a sudden, you have this alchemy where she proves her value on the field by winning, like the Boston Guard did, and follows up off the field, by greeting fans and with content generation. There’s a promising future for Charlotte.”

NORTH’S FOLLOWING ON AND OFF THE FIELD is largely why Rabil tapped her as one of the faces of the WLL, a team captain who helped announce the league’s formation on ESPN and promote it on social media and the network. North was happy to oblige, having developed a rapport with Rabil since the two met at the Tewaaraton ceremony while she was at Boston College. She also was excited to work with Rachael DeCecco, another ESPN broadcaster and the PLL’s vice president of lacrosse.

Rabil and DeCecco are National Lacrosse Hall of Fame players whose business acumen have made them two of the most influential figures in the sport. Their faith in North has been founded in spades. The WLL played in front of sellout crowds.

“The first of hopefully many sellouts,” North said. “It’s just the beginning of showcasing how much talent is in our game at every position, and everyone has bought in and is pumped about the future of this professional league.”

With Athletes Unlimited suspending lacrosse operations after four seasons, the WLL stands to take the mantle and, perhaps, after three tries at pro women’s lacrosse (including the UWLX and WPLL) succeed long-term. The WLL will take center stage during a joint All-Star Weekend with the PLL July 4-5 in Kansas City, something Rabil and North hope builds on the momentum of the Championship Series.

Ensuring the WLL exists and expands requires more than winning and talent. That’s where North comes in. Her effect isn’t just limited to the fans who pack the stands and seek autographs. Other women's lacrosse pros are catching on to what it takes to grow their personal brand and the game at large.

“You have this trickle-down effect,” Rabil said. “When you look at leagues where players are active on social, you typically start at the top, whether it's Tom Brady in the NFL or LeBron James in the NBA. When they’re active, their peers look up and say, ‘We need to do this, too.’”

The international landscape and opportunities are also growing, with the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles being a “goal post” moment Rabil can see for North, who's taking things one opportunity at a time.

It starts this summer with the U.S. field and sixes teams, who will compete in the Pan-American Lacrosse Association Women’s Championship and The World Games 2025, respectively. The PALA event (June 26-30 in Florida) serves as a qualifier for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship. The World Games, meanwhile, will feature women’s sixes for the second time in four years — an Olympic-style event that will mark the official start of Team USA’s journey to LA28 (see page 48).

“Charlotte is still having an impact on the college game because of the generational talent she is,” Boyle said. "Whatever Charlotte wants to do, she's going to be successful at it based on the person and player she is. She hasn’t lost her step since college. If anything, she’s gotten better. There’s no telling what she’s going to do next.”

Whatever that “next” is, there’s no question who North will be when she gets there.

“My goal is to be the best version of myself and teammate every day, whether for Team USA or the Boston Guard,” North said. “That’s my life. That’s my job. Not every female athlete gets to pursue the sport they love at the college level, much less a professional level.”

North has made that a reality for more young girls, like the ones who envelope her, chanting her name and feeling honored to get 30 seconds of her time in football stadiums on Long Island and in Boston and perhaps, soon, Los Angeles.

North’s hope for them? That their journey is theirs — and that new pinnacles are possible.

“What I’d say to all the female athletes of the world is, ‘Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t have it as good, if not better than a man. You may not see your future in the current state of the game — that doesn’t mean you can’t change that,’” North said. “Acacia always told me to dream as big as I could. We’re going to elevate the sport for all the young girls out there who maybe felt discouraged and doubted themselves.”

In that sense, North has become what she needed as a young athlete — a source of self-belief, perhaps the most powerful part of her appeal.