BOSTON — The United Women’s Lacrosse League, the first women’s professional lacrosse league, has announced its schedule for the third season of UWLX action to kick off in the late spring of 2018.

The 2018 UWLX lineup of games will cover five different stops on the map before culminating in early August with the league’s third championship, which will be held at Harvard Stadium in conjunction with a home game hosted by the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse.

Games featuring the league’s four teams – the Baltimore Ride, Boston Storm, Long Island Sound and Philadelphia Force – will be held at a series of lacrosse’s biggest summer events on a trail that begins in Maryland and will see the league’s semifinals held in the Adirondack Mountains.

“We have put together an amazing lineup of events where we can put the United Women’s Lacrosse League in front of thousands of families and fans,” said Kristan Ash, General Manager of the UWLX.

“The UWLX and 3d Lacrosse worked with 3d’s large network of partners and coaches to identify some of the best opportunities to showcase the league’s contests, which will help connect the teams and players with fans throughout the country. We’re thrilled about working with so many great partners and look forward to the busy summer that we’re continuing to build.”

Season three starts Saturday, June 15, in Bel Air, Maryland, at the Live.Love.Lax event and then invites fans to make stops at many of the summer’s best girls lacrosse tournaments and showcases.

Action resumes on July 7 when the league will pair its second weekend of action with a high-profile event held in New Jersey as T3 Lacrosse will host UWLX games at the Top Flight Lacrosse Tournament held in Basking Ridge.

The third set of games will bring the UWLX to Maryland and will coincide with 3d Lacrosse’s new premiere recruiting event for girls – the STX Rising Girls Showcase to be held at Blandair Park on July 11.

The following week keeps the UWLX in Maryland, as the culmination of the regular season will coincide with another special occasion.

The final UWLX regular-season contests will be held July 18 at the UWLX Summer Draw, a new youth and scholastic girls team event being co-hosted by 3d Lacrosse and Top of the Bay Lacrosse at Cedar Lane Regional Park in Bel Air, Maryland. The tournament will draw girls teams and their families from throughout the nation.

Getting the postseason underway, the UWLX will return to the Adirondack Mountains to the annual Lake Placid Summit Classic, an annual tournament run by Summit Lacrosse Ventures now in its 29th year. The UWLX semifinals will be held on July 30 during the scholastic portion of the Summit Classic.

The following weekend, the UWLX will head to Harvard Stadium, where the third league championship will be hosted by the Boston Cannons and held on August 4. The UWLX title matchup will immediately follow the Cannons taking on the Ohio Machine, Boston’s final regular season game. The Cannons and the Machine face-off at 5 p.m. and the UWLX championship will start 7:30 p.m.

“The Cannons organization is extremely proud to partner with the UWLX and 3d Lacrosse and showcase the top women’s professional lacrosse athletes in the world,” said Boston Cannons President Ian Frenette.

“Bringing the 2018 UWLX Finals to Boston and alongside a Boston Cannons/Major League Lacrosse game at Harvard Stadium is something that lacrosse fans of New England are craving and are excited to support.”

With the league entering its third season, Ash and league are focused on finding additional creative ways of bringing UWLX games to the fans throughout the course of the summer for years to come.

By partnering with events and hosting UWLX games on site, the league will showcase its teams and players before a large population of families – including many women and girls – who routinely travel throughout the summer for lacrosse events.

“Families from all over the U.S. and Canada hit the road in the summer months, and rather than just simply hope they see our league and our games, we are going to take these world-class players directly to the fans for a celebration of girls and women’s lacrosse,” Ash said.

By growing the UWLX’s brand and its reach, the league’s general managers and coaches aim to provide the players with the avenue to create lasting relationships with the next generation of players as well as the opportunity to coach and mentor youth through off-field opportunities.

Details are being finalized for a variety of engagements – including player led clinics and camps – to be scheduled in tandem with 2018 UWLX regular season and playoff games.

“The UWLX has established a new platform for the women of our sport to showcase the game at its highest level,” said Regy Thorpe, the head coach of the Long Island Sound.

The Sound won the league’s first championship in 2016; Thorpe was named head coach for the 2017 season and guided the team to its second title.

“The formation of the UWLX served as an important step in the sport and this year the league will redefine itself thanks to the leadership of 3d Lacrosse and an amazing group of coaches who are committed to helping grow the game of lacrosse.”

For more information on the United Women’s Lacrosse League, visit the UWLX website at http://unitedwlax.com/ and see the full 2018 league schedule below.

UWLX 2018 Schedule

June 15

Event/Location:
Live.Love.Lax - Bel Air, Maryland

Games:
Baltimore Ride vs. Philadelphia Force - 6:30 p.m.
Long Island Sound vs. Boston Storm - 8 p.m.

July 7

Event/Location:
Top Flight Lacrosse Tournament - Basking Ridge
New Jersey – Morris Plains, New Jersey

Games:
Baltimore Ride vs. Boston Storm
Long Island Sound vs. Philadelphia Force
(Game Times: TBD)

July 11

Event/Location:
STX Rising Showcase - Blandair Park, Maryland

Games:
Baltimore Ride vs. Long Island Sound - 6 p.m.
Boston Storm vs. Philadelphia Force - 7:30 p.m.

July 18

Event/Location:
UWLX Summer Draw Presented by 3d Lacrosse and Top of the Bay – Bel Air, Maryland

Games:
Baltimore Ride vs. Boston Storm - 6:30 p.m.
Long Island Sound vs. Philadelphia Force - 8 p.m.

July 30

Event/Location:
Lake Placid Summit Classic – Lake Placid, New York

Games:
Semifinal (#1 seed vs. #4 seed) - 4 p.m.
Semifinal (#2 seed vs. #3 seed) - 5:45 p.m.
(Weather Date: July 31)

August 4

Event/Location:
Harvard Stadium – Boston, Massachusetts

Finals:
Championship Matchup - 7:30 p.m., following the Boston Cannons game at 5 p.m. 
(Weather Date: August 1st)

About UWLX

The United Women’s Lacrosse League is a Boston-based professional women’s lacrosse league founded in 2016 and operated by 3d Lacrosse. Also known as UWLX, the league features four teams in major sports markets: the Baltimore Ride, the Boston Storm, the Long Island Sound and the Philadelphia Force. The league is sponsored by STX Lacrosse in Baltimore and, as of 2017, is managed by 3d Lacrosse. Follow the league on Twitter at @unitedwlax and on Instagram at @unitedwlax. Learn more at the league’s website at http://unitedwlax.com.