Women’s lacrosse is the newest benefactor of a momentous era for women’s sports. The Premier Lacrosse League announced Nov. 13 the creation of the Women's Lacrosse League, which will be composed of four teams and join Athletes Unlimited, founded in 2020, as the second professional women’s lacrosse league.
The WLL will debut at the PLL Championship Series in February 2025 —- and Virginia women’s lacrosse, plus women’s lacrosse players around the country, are excited.
“It’s about time,” Coach Sonia LaMonica said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. “Any continued visibility is going to be a good thing because we’ve got such a great product in our sport … it will only enhance the brand.”
LaMonica and the Cavaliers are fresh off a 2024 campaign in which they went 15-5 and reached the ACC Tournament semifinals. Eight Virginia players earned All-ACC honors, which included three All-ACC Freshman honorees — attackers Madison Alaimo and Jenna DiNardo and midfielder Kate Galica. The team figures to be an ACC contender once again in 2025, and it has a roster filled with potential pros.
Although most young athletes dream of playing at the highest level, the collegiate level has long been the pinnacle of these aspirations — before 2020, the pathway to professional lacrosse did not exist for women outside of the U.S. national team. Now, Alaimo and other star Cavaliers are hopeful for the future.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the sport to keep growing and get recognition,” Alaimo said. “The boys have always had [a professional lacrosse league], but I think it’s a great improvement for the girls side of it.”
For veteran players on the roster, like senior attacker Kate Miller, the WLL represents an unexpected chance to prolong their athletic careers beyond college.
“I’m a senior, I’m thinking that things are wrapping up soon, and now you have this whole new opportunity [with] something I could do going forward with the sport I love,” Miller said.
The establishment of the WLL is a mark of significant progress, but there are some critical components that the league must develop to ensure that it can be a suitable career option. LaMonica, who played for four years at Maryland and spent time with the Australian national team, said that the new league should focus on supporting players’ physical and mental well-being, specifically citing sports medicine and sports psychology.
At Virginia, LaMonica says those types of resources have helped empower the players, something which is reflected in the consistent success of the team. The Cavaliers have won three national titles and appear in the NCAA Tournament almost yearly.
Virginia’s recruiting pitch has been relatively simple — you will win, and win a lot, if you come to Charlottesville. Now, the added potential of playing at a professional level will become another dimension that athletes must consider during their recruitment. That dynamic favors Virginia, a premier program that already features several players likely to be considered for expanded professional opportunities. If LaMonica and her staff can develop and prepare athletes to play at the next level, the WLL could have tremendous benefits for the Cavaliers.
Virginia assistant coach Caylee Waters, who joined LaMonica’s staff last year, competes with Athletes Unlimited in addition to being a member of the U.S. national team. She has seen firsthand the success that a professional women’s lacrosse professional league can achieve.
“Each year, [Athletes Unlimited] gains more and more investment in women’s sports not just with what we do on the field, but how we take care of ourselves off the field,” Waters said. “Financially, there’s compensation in that too, [It shows] that it matters and there’s money behind it for us.”
As a new league, WLL will have to find a way to co-exist with Athletes Unlimited. In this vein, WLL organizers have announced that the league’s season will not conflict with that of Athletes Unlimited, enabling the two organizations to feature the game’s best talent.
One major difference between Athletes Unlimited and the WLL will come in the gameplay. Athletes Unlimited employs the standard 10-on-10 format used in college lacrosse and at the international level, but the WLL will use 6-on-6 gameplay.
Waters explained that the WLL’s small-sided format is smart, as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will feature the same format. Lacrosse has not been part of the Olympics for 80 years, and women’s lacrosse has never made an appearance, so the WLL will help the common fan — and the players — prepare for 2028.
LaMonica agrees that this format will help bring more attention to the game. She also noted that Virginia already uses it during training sessions, with the intention of getting players to compete in fast-paced action. The up-tempo style has been embraced by the Cavaliers in an effort to build the necessary attributes to play at the collegiate level.
“[Sixes] require a more all-around athlete… [with] speed and athleticism, and we’re seeing more and more amazing athletes within our sport,” LaMonica said.
The WLL’s ultimate success remains to be seen. But its creation signals continued investment in women’s sports and opens up more opportunities for Virginia athletes and the program at large.
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