The United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX) was a

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...

league in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was co-founded in Boston, Massachusetts, by

Digit Murphy Margaret Pearl "Digit" Murphy (née Degidio; born December 7, 1961) is an American ice hockey coach, administrator, and former college ice hockey player. She is president of the Toronto Six of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). Murphy h ...

and Aronda Kirby of the Play It Forward Sports Foundation, under the ownership of United Women's Sports LLC in a strategic partnership with STX. Penn State women's lacrosse alum and former United States national team player Michele DeJuliis was appointed as the league’s first commissioner. DeJuliis left after the 2016 season to found the Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL); Kristan Ash served as the second and final league commissioner. The league comprised four teams: the

Baltimore Ride The Baltimore Ride were a United Women's Lacrosse League (UWLX) professional women's field lacrosse team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They played in the UWLX since the 2016 season. In the 2016 season, the four teams in the UWLX played in a ba ...

, Boston Storm, Long Island Sound and Philadelphia Force. Long Island won the first two championships and Philadelphia won the third and final championship.

History

UWLX was the first opportunity in the form of a nationally competitive league afforded to women looking to continue playing lacrosse after their collegiate playing days conclude. Among the league's efforts, its inaugural season has allowed for over 100 opportunities for women in post-collegiate sport play in lacrosse. “Our Play It Forward platform was started to grow opportunities for women in professional sports,” and the inaugural season features games that will be played at or in close proximity to major lacrosse tournaments in the Northeast, allowing the league to connect with and inspire younger players. During the month of March 2016, the league unveiled the club names and logos, while also announcing the hiring of head coaches. The first four head coaches in league history include Jen Adams (Baltimore), Amy Patton (Boston) Missy Doherty (Philadelphia) and Shannon Smith (Long Island). In late November 2016, it was announced that UWLX engaged in a partnership with

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Foot ...

which would see the league serve as a promotional partner of the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The event was held on Memorial Day Weekend 2017.

Structure

League play started on May 28, 2016 and a draft took place on April 13 to fill the four team rosters. In the inaugural draft, Maryland Terrapins alumnus and former US national team player Katie Schwarzmann would be the first player ever selected, taken by the Baltimore Ride with the top pick. Other players selected in the first round of the inaugural draft were also current or former members of the US national team. Said players included Liz Hogan (Boston), Michelle Tumolo (Philly) and

Devon Wills Devon Wills (born March 28, 1984) is an American women’s lacrosse player. Having played with the Dartmouth Big Green at the collegiate level, she would become the first female player to sign a contract with the New York Lizards of Major League L ...

(Long Island). The inaugural regular season champions were the Long Island Sound, while Dana Dobbie captured the scoring title. The four teams in the UWLX do not have their own home venues. Instead, all teams travel to large youth lacrosse tournaments to participate in regular season play. During the inaugural season, it was announced that the construction of a new sports complex in Attleboro, Massachusetts, known as the New England Sports Village, would serve as the eventual headquarters for UWLX. The league also believes in having a positive impact in the female sporting community. Of note, players in UWLX conduct lacrosse clinics for young players. In addition, the league has partnered with Jazmine Smith, the founder and CEO of Eyekonz, which provides sporting opportunities for African American girls in Philadelphia through participation in field hockey and lacrosse. Smith brought the

Strawberry Mansion High School Strawberry Mansion High School is a public high school in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia. It was previously named Strawberry Mansion Junior / Senior High School, and Strawberry M ...

girls’ lacrosse team to the inaugural UWLX weekend at Lehigh University.

Teams

General Managers

References

External links