Athletes Unlimited Records Fall Like Dominoes Thanks to Charlotte North

SPARKS, Md. — The record-breaking days of Charlotte North are far from over. It’s just been a couple years since the Boston College dynamo rewrote history.

North deposited an Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse single-game record eight goals on Sunday and captained her team to a win. Her scoring barrage pushed her past Sam Apuzzo for the most goals in a single season (39). It was her 21st AU hat trick — another record. North finished week three with 16 goals in three games, a new top mark for the most goals scored in a weekend.

Few can claim to be surprised by her exploits. Two Tewaaraton Awards, a national championship and a gold medal can do that for a player’s public expectations.

But North has simply never experienced this level of success in Athletes Unlimited. She was the No. 1 draft pick out of college then finished No. 14 on the individual leaderboard in 2022. She finished three places worse in 2023.

With just three more games remaining in 2024, North is second on the individual leaderboard, trailing Apuzzo by 53 points. She’ll again have captain responsibilities, meaning — to some degree — her championship hopes are squarely within her control.

“It’s a little bit like a puzzle piece, I guess,” North said about putting together a team. “But everybody in the league is so talented that it’s not as much who you have on your team, but how you’re going to come together and where those pieces will fit once you get there. Those pieces will fit once you hit the practice field.”

And guess who Team North will play in the season’s final game? It’s Team Apuzzo on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern to crown a champion.

North credited Apuzzo and others for setting an example and teaching her how to be a pro. But North always seemed destined for this level of success, ever since she first went viral at Boston College.

Her Sunday exploits included scoring her team’s first five goals. She dodged and re-dodged to get enough space for a turnaround bouncer. She ran across the crease from left to right and buried a couple sidewinders. She hit a question mark dodge that would make Rob Pannell proud, too.

“It’s unreal,” said Livy Rosenzweig, North’s teammate in week three and AU’s draw leader by a landslide this season. “I mean, I’m just proud and happy to do my job on the circle when she puts it in the back of the net like that.”

It’s not as if North played poorly in her first two years in the league. Far from it. There’s a reason she’s one of two players in Athletes Unlimited history to produce 100 goals (Apuzzo). What North didn’t have, though, were the points awarded to players for winning quarters and games. Those add up, and they make a massive difference.

Still, North wanted to do more. She wanted to be more. Believe it or not, there are holes in Charlotte North’s game. At least she thinks so.

“This is the highest level of lacrosse,” she said. “And so, every year, we as athletes figure out ways to improve and to come out here and give our best and have that be better than the year before to elevate the game. … I think a lot of it is just being your biggest critic and being able to dissect where you need to be better. And we try to do that constantly as athletes, but it’s all about how you can assess where you’re at — from a physical standpoint, mental standpoint, and from a skill standpoint altogether.”

So, what exactly are North’s perceived weaknesses? Individually, she’s constantly in search of improvements in the two-man game. Then there’s dialing in her range and reading a defense. Collectively, each week presents its own challenges with several new teammates to acclimate to North’s strategies as a captain.

It’s the locker room, she said, where the most change can happen.

“At the end of the day, it’s really about the team you have in the locker room and how you’re going to come together and inspire each other,” she said.

North inspires every single time she steps on the field. Fans flock to USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md., to watch her play in whatever color uniform she’s wearing.

Advancing the game is her — pun intended — north star.

“The last weekend here is always really special,” she said. “The best part about this place is that it’s a culmination of a lot of time together. And it all ends in one big celebration of successful season, no matter how it ends. We just want to continue to put out the best product that we can and inspire the next generations who want to play professional lacrosse.”

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD

1. Sam Apuzzo, 1,312 points
2. Charlotte North, 1,259
3. Taylor Moreno, 1,170
4. Ally Kennedy, 1,156
5. Kady Glynn, 970
6. Emily Nalls, 968
7. Ally Mastroianni, 948
8. Meg Douty, 939
9. Katie O’Donnell, 919
10. Sam Geiersbach, 914