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BEL AIR, Md. — Over Memorial Day weekend, girls from all over the United States came to Maryland to compete in the annual USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament. The National Tournament has been held by USA Lacrosse and its predecessors since 1933 and will be celebrating its 90th anniversary next year. 

This year, over fifty teams came together to represent their regions and play in front of college coaches. 

Until last year, being a lacrosse player had always been part of Lily Kennedy’s identity. And she didn’t mind that one bit because she truly loves the game.

But after years of club lacrosse, high school success, and a four-year Division I varsity career at UMBC, the end arrived. Kennedy, a team captain, completed her senior season for the Retrievers in 2021. 

“After graduating from college last year, I lost my identity of being an athlete and I missed being around the lacrosse community,” Kennedy said. 

Jake Deane and Mike Gabel didn’t have a master plan when they started what became True Lacrosse. The duo was playing for the Chicago Machine of Major League Lacrosse when they began working with local youth players to help generate interest in the sport, but their efforts quickly expanded and led to the formation of True Lacrosse.

Lizzie Colson is an elite athlete. She was a two-time national champion as a member of the women’s lacrosse team at the University of Maryland, and she’s now a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team preparing for the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship. For most of her athletic career, she’s been devoid of failure.

One of the few setbacks that Colson’s had to endure came in 2019, when she suffered an ACL injury while training with the U.S. Women’s Team.

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Saturday afternoon, just minutes after Boston College Club defeated Georgia, 12-7, to claim its first WCLA Division I title, four of BC’s players found themselves together for one of the plethora of celebratory photos that were being taken by parents and supporters. 

Standing on the Field 1 turf at Round Rock’s Multipurpose Complex, there was an odd feeling of familiarity between the current moment and one that occurred last spring. 

ROUND ROCK, Texas – If there’s one thing that the Loyola Maryland club players all hate, it’s the ‘Circle Drill’ that is part of their practice sessions. It’s something they do to improve on their stick work, ball possession, and quick decision-making, but similar to eating your vegetables and flossing regularly, the benefit is more long term. 

“Everybody hates doing it, but it pays off,” said senior team captain Erin Haverty.

Boston College Club and Loyola Maryland Club both utilized strong second half performances to capture the 2022 WCLA Division I and II national championships Saturday in Round Rock, Texas. 

ROUND ROCK, Texas — By strong consensus among many of the WCLA’s Division I coaches, Boston College Club and Georgia have been the two most dominant teams throughout the 2022 season. In fact, Georgia resided at the top of the national ranking for the first half of the year and BC owned the top spot for the second half. 

ROUND ROCK, Texas — Two-time defending national champion Loyola Maryland will try to capture its third straight WCLA Division II title on Saturday in the Division II championship game. But first, the No. 2 seeded Greyhounds will need to avoid being the fourth upset victim of the week for No. 13 seed Vermont in order to claim the trophy once again.

The Catamounts (9-3) finished in third place in the New England Women’s Lacrosse League, but they have played like a top contender since arriving in Round Rock earlier this week.