Inaugural WLL Championship Has Distinct USA Feel — With Some Friends Turning Foes

Less than two weeks after captaining the U.S. Women’s National Team to gold at the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, Marie McCool and Caylee Waters will be on opposite sides for the inaugural Women’s Lacrosse League Championship.

The former North Carolina teammates turned Team USA teammates will square off when McCool’s California Palms take on Waters’ Maryland Charm at 5 p.m. EDT Saturday at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia.

“We were so thrilled to win gold, and instead of saying bye to each other, we got to say, ‘See you next week,’” Waters said. “As much as we know that we're all competitors and we're excited to play and play for a championship, we're also excited that we get this opportunity to continue playing lacrosse.”

It’s no wonder that the first-ever WLL title game pits the 3-1 Charm vs. the 3-1 Palms. Their rosters are replete with world championship gold medalists from the U.S. as well as some top players from other countries’ national teams. The Charm features U.S. teamers Sam Apuzzo, Brigid Duffy, Sam Forrest, Ally Kennedy and Waters, plus Canadian stalwart Erica Evans.

“I'd much rather have them on my team than go against them,” said McCool, a Palms midfielder. “But I’m just excited to be able to share the field with them in whatever capacity it might be, even if it's against them.”

The Palms have even more representatives from worlds. McCool is one of five U.S. team standouts along with Anna Brandt, Emma LoPinto, Ally Mastroianni and Emma Muchnick. Canada’s Jordan Dean and Brooklyn Walker-Welch, Argentina’s Sam Geiersbach and England’s Emily Nalls also play for California.

“Especially since the majority of our USA midfield line is on the Palms, it could seem a little intimidating,” said Waters, the starting goalie for the Charm, who usually bring in Jenika Cuocco for the second half of games. 

Maryland won the only head-to-head meeting of the season between the teams, 18-17, in overtime. McCool’s second goal of the game with five seconds left in regulation forced overtime before the Charm won on Cassidy Spilis’ fourth goal. That was back on May 29.

“Both of us are two completely different teams from that moment,” McCool said. “We had a lot of new players, including myself this year. I had never played with the Palms, I haven't been on the Championship Series team the past two years because of my college coaching conflict [at North Carolina]. And so having a lot of new personnel going into that game and figuring that out, there are definitely some things that we walked away with. It was a great learning lesson for us.”

Maryland has not played since July 17, when Waters made eight saves to help the Charm wrap up a 3-1 regular season with a 21-17 win over the Boston Guard to clinch their spot in the championship. The Charm don’t expect to have any trouble shaking off the rust. They were second behind the Palms with 65 goals this season and boast a league-best 41 assists. Duffy, Ashley Humphrey, Sydni Black, Kennedy and Apuzzo each had at least 16 points this year.

“I see the little plays in which we play together,” Waters said. “And that's just something that we bring mentally. You can't really train that when you're apart and you can't really source that as a coach. It's how you show up and how you want to play for each other. And it's a domino effect because you feel that from your other teammates, what they're willing to give and sacrifice and their instinct for each other to make that play for that next player.”

They’ll face a California team that looked plenty motivated to earn a rematch against the Charm. Needing a win or a loss by nine goals or fewer in the season finale last Saturday to advance, California jumped out to an 8-0 lead and cruised to a 21-9 win over Boston to earn their spot in the WLL final. The clincher came just six days after the world championship final in Tokyo.

“I felt great on Saturday, I think, because I had been playing,” said McCool, who had two goals and four assists in the win. “Despite all the travel, I've been playing lacrosse for three weeks straight. I felt like the transition was easier, quite frankly, into the game Saturday.”

The Palms offense has been paced by LoPinto, Ellie Masera, Geiersbach, Jill Smith, McCool and Brandt. They all have double-digit points this season, and the depth of the Palms has given opponents difficulty. Their first eight goals last weekend against Boston came from eight different scorers. Taylor Moreno has been solid in goal and Nalls has been a defensive leader who also has a goal and three assists this year. California’s 51 goals allowed were the fewest in the league and helped them create a WLL-leading plus-20 goal differential.

“Our midfield is super strong, can run up and down the field,” McCool said. “We can throw different lines out. We take quick shifts because we know that we have the horses and the energy to do that. And then our attack is super dynamic. If we can play to our best abilities in each unit, it makes it really hard for us to be stopped. But the Charm has the same exact thing, which is why they're also in a championship game.”

McCool believes California’s closeness has provided an edge as well. Their chemistry was on display even with the team apart during the world championship.

“Despite half of us being over in Tokyo, our group chat was constantly busy with people talking in it and supporting each other throughout the tournament,” McCool said. “So that chemistry and camaraderie that we have done a really great job building off of the field has helped us transition seamlessly on the field.”

The WLL Championship has arrived after a Championship Series a year and a half ago kicked off the women’s association with the Premier Lacrosse League in a sixes format. Waters was emotional after coming up short in that opportunity and is looking forward to bringing Maryland a championship with her next shot in the pros.

“I've been with them since we started in the Champ Series with sixes,” Waters said. “That was two years ago. Seeing how we've been able to evolve as a squad — we started out with a lot of losses — it's been really rewarding to see how we've come together.”

Fans are growing more familiar with the emerging stars of the game, and with the world championship win fresh on their minds, the U.S. players have been even more visible. Now they’re hoping that plenty will tune into ESPN to see them play for the WLL title.

“We're putting on a display to help inspire that next generation and grow the game of lacrosse while also competing for the first-ever WLL championship,” McCool said. “There's a lot on the line.”

Especially with a pair of teams with rosters highlighted by gold medalists. Saturday, many of them will be playing against each other for another big prize.

“It just elevates the play when you're around other great players at such a high level,” Waters said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m psyched to get another game and play for a championship. It’s what we love.”