The Women’s Lacrosse League opens its inaugural season Saturday with seven Notre Dame women’s lacrosse alumni spread across three of its four teams, a sign of how quickly the new pro circuit has pulled in familiar college talent. The league begins play May 16, 2026, with the New York Charging and the Boston Guard meeting in the first-ever regular-season game Saturday night at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I.
Notre Dame’s presence reaches the Boston Guard, the Maryland Charm and the California Palms, while assistant coach Mckenna Davis is on the New York Charging. That distribution matters because the league’s first season is built around four original teams and a 10-versus-10 format first used at the 2025 WLL All-Star Game, giving the opening weekend immediate weight beyond a single matchup.
The Charging enter as the 2026 Championship Series winners, while the Guard carry the label of the first-ever Championship Series champions from 2025. Aldave, Ahern, Choma, Dorney and Wolak were on Boston’s roster when it won that title, linking the league’s past to its present before a regular-season game is even complete. For Notre Dame, the spread of alumni across three of four teams shows the school already has a broad footprint in the league’s first season.
The schedule gives the debut a clear rhythm. Each WLL team will make its home debut in its own market, while Rhode Island, Chicago and Fairfield, Conn. will host neutral-site games. The Maryland Charm and the California Palms are set to open their seasons Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore, Md., adding another early test of how the league plans to build local followings around the country.
That mix of home dates, neutral sites and a nationally recognizable opening matchup is the league’s real early test. A new pro property can announce teams and formats, but the first weekend is where it has to show that players, alumni ties and championship history are enough to make people care before the standings even start to matter.
