WLL All-Star Game Aims to Raise the Bar

If you’re tired of All-Star Games being glorified scrimmages and want to see real competitiveness, then Friday’s Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL) All-Star Game in Kansas City might be just what you’re looking for.

The fireworks won’t just come after the game on July 4. The players are looking to provide their own.

“It’s ultra-competitive,” said Charlotte North, one of two team captains for the game. “Everybody is so passionate and 100 percent all-in. We’re working toward the same goal, but everybody ultimately wants to win. We hold that responsibility very close to our heart. The second you step out on the field, you just feel this sense of pride.”

North’s squad will be up against the team of Izzy Scane, who ironically was her roommate for the last week during the U.S. Women’s National Team’s competition at the Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse Championship in Florida.

“She’s the best, and we’re just excited to be on the same field, whether for or against each other,” Scane said.

It’s a big opportunity for the WLL, which hit the field in February for the inaugural WLL Championship Series, a four-team event won by North’s Boston Guard using the sixes discipline of the sport. The All-Star Game, broadcast nationally on ESPN2, is the WLL’s only event this summer, but the league is looking to expand opportunities in 2026.

The WLL is the fourth iteration of professional women’s lacrosse since the United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX) launched in 2016. The UWLX continued operations through 2018, the same year that the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) began. The WPLL played two seasons before cancelling the 2020 season due to COVID-19.

Athletes Unlimited stepped into the void in 2021 and significantly elevated the exposure for pro women’s lacrosse through robust national television packages. The league played four seasons, including the final three at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.

Now the WLL, backed by the Premier Lacrosse League, is looking to continue the ascent for the sport’s top women’s players.

“We’re so excited,” North said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to continue to elevate professional lacrosse. We’re trying to build something that it’s the best it’s ever been. We’ve got the best players in the world, and it’s another step forward in the journey.”

The All-Star Game provides the perfect platform to showcase the athletes.

“To see that many good and skilled players in one place is really an exciting thing,” Scane said. “You get a level of lacrosse that’s very high and very creative. Just to be around girls like that, to see that level of competitiveness and be a part of it, is a really fun thing.”

Sam Apuzzo, who won the individual championship in Athletes Unlimited in 2024, was unable to compete in the WLL’s Championship Series in February due to her coaching commitments with Boston College. She’s looking forward to the opportunity with Team Izzy.

“The WLL put on such a great atmosphere for women’s lacrosse down at the Championship Series,” Apuzzo said. “I’m so excited to be a part of it and play with all the incredible women’s lacrosse players out there. It’s going to be a lot of fun and a great weekend be to celebrate the Fourth of July out there on the field.”

Success for the WLL is huge for both the established stars in women’s lacrosse and for the next generation. Anna Brandt graduated from Penn in May after becoming the Quakers’ all-time leading goal scorer. She joined Apuzzo, North and Scane in helping the U.S. win the gold medal at the Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse Championship earlier this week.

The opportunity to keep playing after college, both with the U.S. and now as a member of Team North for the WLL All-Star Game, is something she considers a privilege.

“I’m so blessed and so fortunate to have that opportunity,” Brandt said. “I love this game so much. I don’t want to stop playing. It brings me so much joy to be around the game, to be around the most the most incredible people. This sport has given me so much. To be able to continue to play is a dream come true.”