There was a consistent trait among successful NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse teams this season.

It wasn’t a certain stat or specific skill, but rather the presence of the Mass Elite club program’s alumni.

That entire base, from coaches on down to the players, can be traced back to one person: Leslie Frank.

For players involved in the U.S. national team program, getting together is always a special time. Unlike their high school and college days, when they get to spend every day with their teammates, training weekends are a rare chance to come together for an extended period of time.

The upcoming U.S. women’s team tryouts are even more special this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been 18 months since the team last gathered together — at the IWLCA President’s Cup in Florida in November 2019 to be exact.

World Lacrosse announced today the team seedings for the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship, which will be held June 29 - July 9, 2022 in Towson, Md.

The player pool that will compete at the U.S. women’s national team tryouts from June 9-11 at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md., will be well represented during this weekend’s NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship at Towson University.

U.S. team head coach Jenny Levy is also the head coach of No. 1 seeded North Carolina and a total of 21 tryout candidates will be participating in the NCAA championships as either an active player or coach.

After a year’s hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Team Development Program (NTDP) is picking up right where it left off after a successful launch in 2019. The program is a high-level training opportunity for the nation’s top high school players that also serves as a pipeline for the U.S. National Team Program.

“We’re so excited to be back on the field,” said Natalie Wills, senior manager of the NTDP. “There’s a lot of positive buzz and it’s been a long time coming. We can’t wait to be back together with our athletes.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – World Lacrosse is today introducing the name, brand identity and first phase of technical resources for the new 6 v 6 discipline that has been developed through a comprehensive consultation, trial and refinement process involving players, coaches, officials and leaders of lacrosse around the world. The new discipline of lacrosse will be formally known as World Lacrosse Sixes. On a more conversational or familiar basis, the new discipline will be referred to as Sixes.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO., USA – World Lacrosse announced today that its senior-level Men’s World Championship, originally scheduled for 2022, is being moved back one year to 2023 in response to other changes in the international sport calendar, to better accommodate athlete availability and to ease financial burden on its member National Governing Bodies.

SAN ANTONIO — When the U.S. men’s national team arrived in San Antonio on Friday, the 36 players checked into the Marriott Plaza on Alamo Street, took in some sights, ate a light meal together and then promptly made their way to the University of the Incarnate Word.

For 90 minutes, they flew up and down the field in a high-speed practice, stopping only to interpret the guttural commands of the coaches trying to jam as much information into their ears as possible in a short period of time. For a decorated group of professionals, they sure seemed nervous.

SAN ANTONIO — When Shogo Oshima started playing lacrosse as a goalie at the University of Tokyo, he would watch videos of American shooters like Will Manny and envision making saves against them.

In Japan, Oshima explained, the U.S. national team consists of players to be emulated, but not necessarily defeated. He would like to help change that perception.