The beginning of the 2025 women’s and girls’ lacrosse seasons started in mid-December of 2024 with some upheaval.
It was at that time when Athletes Unlimited shut down its women’s lacrosse promotion, with its Rotisserie League-style points system, and the people who own the Premier Lacrosse League for men started a women’s league.
The league, the Maybellline Women’s Lacrosse League, was a week-long competition with four teams playing the Olympic format in Springfield, Va.
A lot of top players showed up, such as Charlotte North, Taylor Moreno, Izzy Scane, Erin Coykendall, and Caitlyn Wurzburger. But even with the more recent stars, there was room for veteran pros like Marie McCool, Ally Mastroianni, and Alex Holman in the demanding week-long competition.
The league sold tickets and merchandise, and the players were received like rock stars during the second week of February. The Boston Guard, led by North, won the title match over New York 22-17.
Around that time, the college season was starting with immense expectations for the teams that won their respective championships in 2024: Boston College in Division I, Tampa in Division II, and Middlebury in Division III.
Boston College, thanks to the transfer portal, looked to have a very strong team in the early part of the campaign, as well as a Northwestern side which picked up Delaney Sweitzer in the off season, also from the transfer portal.
As March turned into April, however, the University of North Carolina entered the chat. UNC, a team which had been decimated by injuries in 2024, healed up nicely and took advantage of a generational incoming class of first-year players which included Tess Calabria, Kate Levy, Eliza Osburn, and Addison Pattillo,
Oh, and there was the matter of a redshirt freshman named Chloe Humphrey, who authored one of the most remarkable women’s lacrosse seasons in the last 40 years. She would break UNC’s single-season record for goals scored, with 90. Crucially, she had four of those goals in the NCAA title game against Northwestern, a performance which allowed her to win the Honda Award and the Tewaaraton Trophy, emblematic of the best player in the game.
Northwestern, for its part, had a championship-level season in large measure because of Sweitzer, draw specialist Sam Smith and defenders Jane Hansen and Sammy White.
Oh, and also, the NCAA’s leading record single-season goal-scorer, as Madison Taylor would post 109 goals and assist on 49 others. Even as every other defense in the country schemed to try to account for her, she seemingly could not be stopped.
Northwestern and UNC played an artful final with both teams showing up and showing their best attributes. However, UNC pretty much clinched the game through a five-goal run in the first half that saw them take a four-goal lead that they maintained to the end, winning 12-8 in a game played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
Several hundred miles to the southwest, the Division II and III titles were taken by repeat winners in Tampa and Middlebury. But therein is a story unto itself. While the Division I title was being played in Boston alongside all three men’s championships, the women’s Division II and III finals were held in Roanoke, Va.
Tufts head coach Courtney Shute did not mince words in her postgame press conference after the final.
“We were left out,” Shute said. “This is a hard place to get to, and the NCAA needs to do something about the accessibility of the championship. We had an incredible crowd, but our men are playing for a national championship in front of all their alums tonight, and that’s an issue.”
Elsewhere in university lacrosse, Boston College won the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates Division I title, Cal State-San Marcos won the Division II title, and Vermont won the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Organization title,
In the schools, the major story of the 2025 season was the continued excellence of the program at South Huntington St. Anthony (N.Y.), which had, like last year, double-digit numbers of seniors on the roster. The experience, through both club and varsity, showed in the results. At no time did St. Anthony give up more than 10 goals in a game; and, by the same token, the Friars hit double digits in goals scored in each of their contests this season.
It wasn’t as though the Friars played a weak schedule; they played teams from Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut this season, including the Fairfield County duopoly of New Canaan (Conn.) and Darien (Conn.). St. Anthony also posted a notable win during the Gains for Brains Invitational, beating Chatham (N.J.) 13-7.
The Gains for Brains showcase had a number of other intersectional matchups on April 26th. One game notable for its competitiveness was the result that Garden City (N.Y.) was able to get over New Canaan (Conn.). Both were past state champions, and brought that kind of experience and ability into this match. On the day, the Garden City attack was able to get a free position goal with 36.7 seconds left in regulation to win 10-9.
New Canaan, the defending state champions for Connecticut’s largest public school division, found the going more difficult in 2025. The Rams didn’t make the final of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Council title game, losing to Wilton (Conn.) in the semifinal round. However, they more than made up for it just by making it to the state title game to play Darien. The Blue Wave and the Rams continued their Route 124 rivalry with a taut, defensive contest that saw Darien win 6-5.
Down the coast, there was an absolute cluster of teams seeking the championship of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland, which universally has been seen as the best league in the United States. The top four sides in the final league standings — Owings Mills McDonogh (Md.), Severn Archbishop Spalding (Md.), Brooklandville St. Paul’s (Md.), and Lutherville Maryvale Prep (Md.) — all had impressive non-league resumes, and none of the four were undefeated in league play this season.
Sure, one could argue that McDonogh had some of the more difficult opponents this season, but in one of the more unpredictable and competitive championships the league has yet seen, it was Maryvale Prep beating the Eagles in the semifinal round in a 9-8 nailbiter, then in the other half of the bracket it was Spalding beating St. Paul’s 10-9. In the championship, held at U.S. Lacrosse headquarters, it was Maryvale beating Archbishop Spalding 7-5.
Oddly enough, if you reverse the letters of the IAAM, you get a governing body which had a similar brand of competitiveness, albeit on a larger scale. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association showcased a number of brilliant public, magnet, and parochial-school teams who were at an even level of competition. During a topsy-turvy regular season, no team in the four statewide brackets came in undefeated.
But in suburban Philadelphia, one team was able to string together an undefeated record. Newtown Square Episcopal Academy (Pa.) had a splendid regular season culminating in an Interacademies League championship based upon its 18-0 slate. This included wins over Caledon Hill Academy (Ont.), Bethesda Stone Ridge (Md.), Summit (N.J.), and Bradenton IMG Academy (Fla.).
The Churchwomen, however, did not participate in this year’s PAISAA championship because of the school’s May Term, a two-week academic program which allows students to study a vast array of topics and take trips to various locales like Morocco, Switzerland, and Costa Rica.
Still, the PAISAA championship rolled on, with Rosemont Agnes Irwin (Pa.) winning the title.
Now, if you’ve noticed this roundup mentioning more than a few private-school teams, it’s no accident. The last couple of seasons have been one where prep, private, and parochial schools have been in the ascendancy nationwide. A lot of this can be traced to the current pay-to-play atmosphere that has been the norm in many athletic competitions from swimming to softball.
Only in recent years, the results of recruiting battles as well as the success of players at the next level have led to an explosion of the club lacrosse scene. While the current scene which, while not leading to a single dominant club like there has been in field hockey, has become an all-important to players’ personal resumes.
