SPARKS, Md. — The best women's lacrosse players on the planet are getting ready for season No. 4 of the only professional women’s lacrosse league in the world. Athletes Unlimited is back.
USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md. will host a month of world-class LAX action. There are no coaches in the AU format. There are just 56 players trying to rack up points to be atop a leaderboard. It's kind of like fantasy sports.
Players are redrafted onto four teams each week. The top points leaders are the captains. The winner at the end of it all is determined by individual and weekly team accomplishments.
Goalie Taylor Moreno is the two-time defending champion.
"It’s just about going out there and having a blast and playing our sport at the highest level," she said. "Three-peating would be awesome. But at the end of the day I don’t want to necessarily put that expectation or that pressure on myself."
Attack Sam Apuzzo has finished in second place in each of the last couple years.
"You are always itching to win. You always want to end up on top. But I think to be able to have an opportunity to compete at such a high level against the best players in the country and, I think, in the world is something I just fuel on," she said.
With this being an Olympic year you better believe there are eyes looking to the next summer Olympiad in 2028. That’s when women’s lacrosse makes its Olympic debut. Attack Sydni Black is an AU rookie in 2024. She recently graduated from Loyola.
"I feel really lucky to be able to have a place not only for athletes that are playing for Team USA but also athletes that are playing for other countries - for European countries, for South American countries - that can come and have a sort of beacon to train, to compare, to stack up against," added Abi Jackson, Director of Sport for Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse.
Games start on Thursday, July 18 and run until Sunday, August 11. The first player draft is set for Monday at 7:00 p.m.
For more details on the unique Athletes Unlimited rules and points system click here.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook