The 91st annual USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament is headed to the WRAL Soccer Park in Raleigh, N.C., for the second consecutive year. This year’s event will take place from May 25-26 and feature more than 1,000 of the nation’s top high school players, from 27 states, playing on 53 regional all-star teams.
Dating to 1933, the USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament has evolved into one of the nation’s premier high school recruiting events. Combined with the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championships in Cary, N.C., it makes for a full celebration of women's lacrosse in the state this weekend.
The USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament has featured the best players in the sport’s history over the years, from Hall of Famers to the next wave of stars. Among the gold medalists from the 2022 U.S. women’s team that played in the event during their high school years were Sam Apuzzo, Lizzie Colson, Taylor Cummings, Ally Kennedy, Ally Mastroianni, Marie McCool, Kylie Ohlmiller and more.
More recently, this year’s NCAA final four teams include countless past USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament participants, including Rachel Clark (Boston College), Erin Coykendall (Northwestern), Liz Harrison (Florida), Belle Smith (Boston College) and Emma Ward (Syracuse).
The USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament provides a unique opportunity for college coaches to evaluate recruits as the players participate on all-star teams as opposed to their high school and club teams. College coaches embrace the chance to see how the players fit into new environments and new roles. The geographic distribution of the teams also provides a platform for teams from developing lacrosse regions to see how they stack up against the traditional hotbeds while gaining unprecedented exposure.
This year’s event will feature a combined Nebraska/Iowa team, marking the first time those states have participated. Another new wrinkle will be a House team, featuring players from a variety of states, many of whom did not have tryouts available for their region. For the third year in a row, Nation United, a program aimed at providing high-level playing opportunities to encourage minority participation in lacrosse, will send teams to the USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament.
Games begin on Saturday, May 25 at 8 a.m. and run through Sunday. The field is divided into six divisions based on previous year’s results and each division will crown a champion. All six championship games on Sunday, May 26 will be held at 10 a.m.
This year’s USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament event sponsors include First Scout Productions, DJO, Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), Gait Lacrosse, Gatorade, N&D Sports, Lacrosse Specialties, Crankshooter, HBC Event Services, Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and Visit Raleigh.
