Lacrosse took center stage in Kansas City this weekend. Is it here to stay?
Kansas City became the center of the lacrosse world this weekend when the Premier Lacrosse League and Women’s Lacrosse League held their All-Star weekend at CPKC Stadium.
The professional men’s and women’s field lacrosse leagues dazzled fans with their skill, athleticism and physical prowess in skills challenges and two All-Star games, an apt display for a sport billed as “the fastest game on two feet.”
Kansas City’s lacrosse community has slowly grown throughout the years, but it is far from being a hot spot for the sport. Lacrosse is most popular on the East Coast in cities like Baltimore, Boston and Philadelphia.
So, how did the leagues settle on KC as their All-Star destination? Passionate sports fans, a growing KC lacrosse scene and some heavy influence from Kansas City Current owners Chris and Angie Long.
“Their kids play lacrosse, and we got a call with them a few years ago about what we can do together,” PLL co-founder and CEO Mike Rabil said.
Rabil, who has a background in growing businesses, co-founded the league with his brother, Professional Lacrosse Hall of Famer Paul Rabil, in 2018.
The PLL began its first season the next year with six teams and a touring-based model. In 2023, the league assigned home locations to its now eight teams. Fan voting was taken, and Kansas City was one of the options.
The Women’s Lacrosse League, also known as the WLL, is in its first season and owned by the PLL. The WLL has four teams:
- Boston Guard
- California Palms
- Maryland Charm
- New York Charging
While KC wasn’t chosen to host a team, the Longs were the reason the city was even considered, Mike Rabil said.
“They’re not here to make a quick flip. They’re here to build the community and build a sport. And they’re big in women’s sports,” Rabil said. The leagues also used the Current’s training facilities for practice.
CPKC Stadium has hosted several different sporting events of late, including USA women’s rugby and the Big 12 men’s and women’s soccer tournaments. The NWSL-leading KC Current is on an international break, leaving the stadium to host the lacrosse-palooza.
“We have a women’s sports league now, and so there’s just a really good opportunity for us to come together,” Rabil said.
Inside the lacrosse All-Star events
Friday and Saturday had all the feelings of a weekend sports extravaganza, similar to an NBA or NHL All-Star Weekend.
There was a skills competition, including challenges for the most accurate and fastest shots. Players made time to see youth players at practice, and, of course, the All-Star games took place for both respective leagues.
Those in the stands ranged from youth lacrosse teams, like local girls program Westside Wild, to visiting fans like JoJo War Drummer from Colorado, to parents of youth players, like Mike Cutler, who sported a jersey of renowned PLL referee Matt Palumb, a rarity in any sport.
Drummer has been a staple at lacrosse games in Colorado and on the West Coast for almost two decades, using his war drumming to excite crowds while connecting them to the game’s Indigenous roots.
Rabil and the players saw this weekend as a chance to grow lacrosse by appreciating their core fans who traveled from all over the Midwest for the games, plus the new fans they gained on the Fourth of July weekend.
ESPN’s “SportsCenter” was also live from CPKC Stadium on Saturday.
“The stadium and the city (are) just a good example of when you give women’s sports a platform, how well it can do,” WLL Team Izzy captain Izzy Scane said. Scane is one of the most decorated players in the sport, having won two Tewaaraton Awards as the best player in the country while at Northwestern.
“Being here has been really fun and exciting,” Scane continued, “and to be a part of a city like that, (which) values that so much, is a really fun experience for us.”
Most players and coaches said they had never been to Kansas City before the All-Star events.
But Team West attackers Chris and Pat Kavanagh played in college at Notre Dame with KC native Wheaton Jackoboice, who raved about his hometown. Pat Kavanagh also spent two days with Rockhurst High School’s lacrosse team in April. They were eager and pleased to enjoy the city and see how lacrosse is growing in the area.
“I was probably the most excited out of any guy in this All-Star Game,” Team West midfielder Pat Kavanagh said.
The weekend’s events were historic for the WLL since it was the league’s first-ever All-Star event. To do it in the Current’s stadium with everything it represents took it a step further.
California Palms goalie Taylor Moreno won the WLL Goalie Wars, a brand-new event where goalkeepers attempt to score on each other from at least 12 yards out in 45 seconds. New York Atlas goalie Liam Entenmann won the PLL Goalie Wars, beating the Boston Cannons’ Colin Kirst in an extra sudden-victory period.
Chris Kavanagh, who plays for the California Redwoods, beat Scane in the accuracy challenge as the league’s representatives went head-to-head after beating other players from their own leagues.
Boston Guard attacker Charlotte North, who captained Team North in the WLL All-Star Game and is also one of the most accomplished players in women’s lacrosse, took home the WLL’s fastest shot challenge, ripping off a winning 91 mph shot.
Utah Archers long-stick midfielder Graeme Hossack broke a PLL record with a 123 mph shot on Friday and won the fastest shot on Saturday with a 122 mph shot from his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame.
Growing the game
Before the festivities began, Westside Wild received a visit from New York Charging attacker Erin Coykendall and Maryland Charm defender Abby Bosco at practice. Mya Chandler and Tracie Rezzelle, 12U coaches, said their players were listening to every word as the professionals explained how they got where they are and encouraged them.
For several players, it was their first professional women’s lacrosse game experience.
“I grew up on the East Coast, I played lacrosse, there was no professional,” Rezzelle said. “You had goals in college. But having them be able to see these girls and, like, representing (the WLL) has been a really good experience.”
Scane and North’s squads made the game worth watching — and both showed why they are the current faces of the game.
The game was a traditional 10 vs. 10 lacrosse game as opposed to 6-on-6, a shorter, faster version that was played in the WLL’s Championship Series earlier this year and will be played at the 2026 Los Angeles Olympics.
Scane’s team won 24-20. Boston College alum Sam Apuzzo tallied five goals and an assist, and Stony Brook alum Ally Kennedy nabbed five goals. Scane’s eight goals and one assist helped her earn MVP.
Recent Northwestern grad Sam Smith helped her Team Scane dominate draw controls, winning 39 of 45 draws and picking up 34 ground balls.
Recent Boston College grad Rachel Clark led Team North with five goals and two assists, including a hat trick in the first four minutes of her professional debut. North was right behind her with four goals and two assists, while having the highlight of Friday night with a between-the-legs goal while her back was to the goalie just outside the crease. The play made it to No. 4 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.
There were seven total hat tricks in the game.
North, Scane and almost half of the All-Stars quickly jetted to Kansas City from Florida after helping Team USA win the inaugural Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Monday.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be here a couple of times and get to meet some of the younger players and see how much the sport (has) grown in the Midwest,” North said. “To be able to come here and have an event of this caliber in a place like this is just so amazing for the sport. To be on broadcast television and to see all the younger high school, middle school and even below that players who came out today on a holiday, to come watch and hopefully aspire to play in the WLL one day, is really special.”
In the PLL All-Star Game, the West All-Stars won 15-13 after jumping out to a 12-3 lead by halftime.
Denver Outlaws attacker Brennan O’Neill won MVP as he led the West with a hat trick, including a two-point goal, and three assists. Seven different West players scored, including both Kavanagh brothers.
Outlaws attacker Pat Kavanagh made two highlight reel goals sure to make SportsCenter’s Top 10: a left-handed goal and a no-look goal where he caught the ball in front of the crease and shot without turning around.
Utah Archers star attacker Marcus Holman led the East with two two-point goals. The East had a chance to tie the game with 13.9 seconds left.
Lasting impact in Kansas City?
Lacrosse was only center stage in Kansas City for 48 hours, but the mark was left on fans and players alike. And the in-stadium consensus was clear: Players and fans want the leagues to return to KC.
North thanked Kansas City and the Current owners for their hospitality.
“We play with a sense of pride knowing that people like that, such great people out there, they believe in us and believe in what we’re building,” North, a Dallas native, said. “We can’t say thank you enough for what they’ve done just this weekend. Hopefully, we continue to build lacrosse in the Midwest and continue to have pro lacrosse in the Midwest.”
Rabil acknowledged that some locals leave town during holiday weekends, which he believes affected attendance, but he was encouraged by the weekend’s results. The league’s relationship with the Longs is strong, and Rabil hopes it continues.
If more markets had partners like the Longs, Rabil said, it would immensely help the league expand and reach its lofty goals.
“Not all operators in any industry are the same, and (they) really had a value system,” Rabil said. “The people here that are a part of the Current front office are really great to work with. It’s not always the case.
“We like being in business with them. The future is, like, we’re gonna keep talking and see where it goes.”
This story was originally published July 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM.
