If Michele DeJuliis could have scripted it, the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League would have ended its second season with a shootout.

The WPLL founder and CEO had to admit that it was hard to top the Brave’s 13-12 comeback win over the Fight on July 28 for the league’s second one-goal championship game in as many years.

“I thought that it was probably one of the best games that I have ever watched,” DeJuliis said. “You’re talking about elite athletes, elite-level playing, just true competitors out on the field. It was so fun to watch, and they were unbelievable. Their skill level is just out of this world. I think everybody that was there and watching on ESPN, it was just a fantastic way to display our sport and the way these women play it.”

The thrilling finish wrapped up the second season for the WPLL in fitting fashion. Year two featured big venues, a partnership with the Premier Lacrosse League, an influx of the top talent available and a new champion to go with new fans.

“I was very happy,” DeJuliis said. “I walked away thinking this is exactly why we do what we do.”

The championship allowed the WPLL to highlight live and on ESPN the skill level of the professional league. The WPLL featured 24 of the 26 eligible players from the U.S. women’s national team’s 36-player spring training roster (the remaining 10 are still in college) plus some of the top players in the world. The WPLL attracted some former UWLX stars like Kayla Treanor and Katrina Dowd and enjoyed a rich college draft of impact players.

“It raises the level of play no matter what,” DeJuliis said. “You’re excited to play with people that you played with in college, against the people you played with in college. You bring in everybody that you play with or against, and it forces everybody to be their best. That was something that was clear. There was a definite jump in the level of these teams.

“And then when you add in the college seniors that joined in after their seasons were over, that gave them another boost. In the championship game, you have somebody that just came out of college and then you have some of our oldest players on the field, and look how well it meshed together and how incredible the level of play just grows. I think that is really fun for us, and to see it grow organically was really fun to see.”

 

The season began with doubleheaders held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in conjunction with the PLL’s debut weekend, then moved to Richmond two weeks later for its next set of games. A week later, the WPLL came to Homewood Field in Baltimore, also playing on the same weekend and at the same venue as the PLL.

The WPLL was supposed to play outside Philadelphia in West Chester, Pa., the weekend after July 4, but thunderstorms forced those games to be pushed back a week and moved to Loyola University. The season’s final doubleheader had to be canceled completely when stiflingly hot conditions hit Long Island.

“We reflected on last year and how we can be better this year and how we can make a player’s experience better,” DeJuliis said. “Starting off at Gillette with the men was great. It’s a true top-notch experience, a top facility that was unbelievable to be a part of. And then going into the Champions Cup in Richmond, having that fan base around, really showcasing our sport at the highest level and giving our pros the attention that they deserve was incredible.

“And then going into another weekend with the men and being in Baltimore, which is obviously a hotbed, and again displaying our sport at a really high level and drawing in new fans that might’ve been there to watch the PLL — maybe now we gain those fans because of what we displayed out there. Every weekend, we were just trying to be better for the next.”

DeJuliis felt badly for the fans that missed out on seeing the top players in the world in one spot. Twice, though, weather conditions forced the WPLL’s hand.

“Losing the time at West Chester was a bummer, but making up for that down in Baltimore at Loyola was great with the quick turnaround,” she said. “I thought we had a good fan base there, so we did everything we could to make up for that. But then the Hofstra weekend, we tried every single thing we could do to adjust the schedule and see if we could still get the games in. Ultimately, it didn’t change the standings at all. Player safety is always No. 1, and so we made a decision of what was best for them.”

Partnering with the PLL was a new step for the WPLL. They liked the union and how they helped each other, including social media engagement and creative apparel swaps.

“We committed to having some weekends together, and we definitely took some information from each other, the good and the bad and what works and what doesn’t,” DeJuliis said. “That was really helpful for both sides. Being at the same venue as the men is a cool experience for both the men and the women. Being at Gillette our first weekend, being at an elite venue, you felt, ‘This is pro. This is exactly what we want our women to experience.’ I’m sure the men feel the same way. It was an awesome opportunity. And then again being at Hopkins, I think those types of experiences are critical to not only our players’ experience on the field, but also the fans.

“Think about a fan with their family. They came for the PLL, and you might have young boys in your family, but you also have a daughter and a mom or a girlfriend that now get exposed to the women’s game. We’re gaining a whole new fan base. They wouldn’t have seen our game, because we weren’t with [the men] in the past. We’re able to increase the visibility and the fan base by being together. I think we’ll reconvene with the guys once they settle down from their season, so we have a little ways to go. We’ll wait until they’re done and then reflect on our seasons and decide what moves we’ll make in the future and what direction we’ll go.”

The WPLL already has begun thinking about new areas to grow and improve in its model and game. It felt good about the developments from year one to year two and wants to ensure the progress continues in 2020.

“We’re definitely going to focus more on sponsorship, marketing, digital media,” DeJuliis said. “Those are definitely places that we know will benefit the league the greatest. We will continue to focus in on our Futures programming and connecting our pros with that next generation, which was phenomenal this year. We had a 25-percent growth there and really value that particular part of what we do. But overall, I think the most important part is really that digital media and the marketing aspect of the league.”

The Futures program began with tryouts in most areas in June. It culminated at the start of the WPLL’s championship weekend when select middle school and high school players traveled to the WPLL semifinal site, Yale University, for two days apiece of training with several of the professional players, seminars with WPLL partner Brave Enterprises and scrimmaging and games that focused on player development.

“We saw an increase in our numbers, and it was great,” DeJuliis said. “Our pros, they’re invested in what we’re trying to do, and they showed up. They were able to be on the field with these kids and making appearances and some coaching them. It was a great overall experience and one that we continue to want to make even better.”

It’s the same idea going forward for the WPLL. DeJuliis, commissioner Jen Adams and the WPLL front office, coaches and players are looking at where they can improve.

“We’re working on strategic partnerships. When I look at our league thinking about our player-first mentality, how can we make this experience better? What can we do to give our women more?” DeJuliis said. “We took a lot of time to create a lot of these partnerships, which helped the overall experience. Overall in the second year, I was happy with how things went. I know we can be better, and we will be. But for a jump, I think we made some good changes. Statistically, we saw good increases in what we did this year.”

DeJuliis has gotten feedback from players grateful for the chance to compete post-collegiately at the highest level, but will conduct a league-wide survey to gather suggestions for development. She has been impressed by the early commitment of players.

“Through the season, we’ve gotten positive feedback and also gotten feedback like, how can we help more?” DeJuliis said. “Knowing the overall mission of what we’re trying to do, how can the players be more helpful to the success of the league? That’s been awesome, that you have players that are so invested in making sure that the league rises. Everybody’s been a part of it. Overall, we have incredible players, not only as physical products of what they put out on the field, but also their investment in what our mission is and vision is, and that has paid off.”

Currently, the league has five teams, so doubleheaders are played at the same venue with one team each week receiving a bye. Among the ideas coming for the WPLL is expansion.

“There’s no doubt that’s in our future plans and vision of where this league is going to go,” DeJuliis said. “I can say that we want to make sure we are doing right by the current players that we have. Before we get into the process of expanding, we want to make sure we have our solid plan and funding in place for them to have a successful season. It is for sure in the future, more in the near future than not, because there are so many good players out there. We see the value of adding them. When we do, it’ll be the right time to do it.”

The WPLL will continue to serve as an opportunity to play professionally, and that means an extra chance for the U.S. national teams to assess players as the next World Cup approaches in 2021. But the WPLL has also opened its doors to international players, most notably singing Team Japan defender Ai Hirose, who played for the Brave. Nine different countries are represented in the WPLL player pool.

“We want to make sure we have the best league in the world, and that means having players from all the other countries,” DeJuliis said. “That means when we go to Japan, having a draft camp and having one of those Japanese players come and play with the Brave. That is something that is an awesome success story for those players. We are all in for doing whatever we can for those players. We’re happy to do whatever we can and when they come to the states, we can set up exhibition games. That, for us, is a priority.”

BTBs. Diving backhands. Sky-high draws. The @prowomenslax championship game between @WPLLBrave and @WPLLFight at @USLacrosse HQ was electric

/ https://t.co/WdCZJyM7xc pic.twitter.com/a1I5bNvUKh

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) August 2, 2019

The WPLL could not have asked for a better ending to its second year. The Brave came out on top of a Fight team that had been unbeaten all season. It was ecstatic to showcase its players in a thrilling finish that had a little bit of everything for fans wanting to see the game at its highest level.

“I hope they take away that this was amazing to watch, and I have to see it again. I want to see more of this,” DeJuliis said. “We wanted to leave that feeling of exhilaration and show this game can be played at such an elite level and just stir the excitement up for the sport.

“I was in awe of everything, and I thought it was probably the greatest game I’ve ever seen,” she added. “My first thought was this is exactly why we do what we do. It’s a labor of love. Everything that we do day in and day out, it was all worth it. What you saw in the final game is exactly why. I felt great leaving and knowing that we are doing everything we can to do right by our players, and we’ll just continue to work.”