The Women’s Lacrosse League is filled with players tied to the Philadelphia area, so it’s fitting that the league’s inaugural championship is coming here.
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On Saturday, the Maryland Charm (4-3) will face the California Palms (5-2) in the WLL’s championship at Subaru Park in Chester (5 p.m., ESPN). The game will be the finale to a doubleheader with the Premier Lacrosse League.
The Philadelphia Waterdogs (7-3) will take on the New York Atlas (3-8) at 2 p.m. The WLL, which boasts four teams, is owned by the PLL.
Here are some notable names from the Charm and the Palms with ties to the area:
Emily Parros, Maryland Charms coach
Before she was coaching the Charms, Emily Parros turned heads at Strath Haven. Parros (formerly Emily Garrity) was named a first-team U.S. Lacrosse All-American following her senior year with the Panthers in 2009.
“I’m a Delco girl,” Parros said. “So it’s special to me. That stadium’s probably no more than 15 minutes from my house where I grew up. So it’s just a unique experience as a coach.”
After high school, Parros was a two-time captain at the University of North Carolina before launching her coaching career. She has made assistant coaching stops at James Madison, East Carolina, and with the Tar Heels. After a season as an assistant with the Charm, she was named the team’s head coach in December.
As a player, Parros helped lead Team USA to its ninth World Lacrosse Women’s Championship title in 2022. Now, she is looking to win a championship as a coach.
“I think these players have really put in the time on and off the field with each other to be able to create those electric moments on the field,” Parros said. “We have very good talent, and I think anytime you have talent, it can be interesting to see how it meshes on the field. One of my favorite things about this team is that there is no ego. We all go to bat for each other. We celebrate every success, and it’s just been a lot of fun.”
Anna Brandt, California Palms midfielder
Anna Brandt, a former standout at Penn, expects to see action on Saturday for the Palms.
The three-time All-Ivy selection left the Quakers as the program’s all-time leader in goals (206). Brandt, who graduated in 2025, is looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces this weekend. Penn coach Karin Brower and assistant Nicole Spencer will be in attendance.
“The four years [at Penn] were the best,” Brandt said. “I had the best time with the Penn coaches and staff. And playing on Franklin Field was always really special. I still remember my last game I played there and just how much that meant. I never knew if I would get a chance to be back, or let alone play a championship game in Philly. So to be back in the cities that really I feel like launched my lacrosse career is super special.”
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This season, Brandt has logged 11 goals. She will play an important role Saturday as she faces off against the upper echelon of women’s lacrosse players.
“I mean, the level is insane,” Brant said. “It’s like every single person on your scouting report is an All-American, a Tewaaraton winner [honoring the nation’s top college lacrosse player], finalist, national champion. There’s no weak links anywhere throughout this entire league. You really got to put your best foot forward every time you step on the field.”
Cassidy Spilis, Maryland Charm midfielder
Tabernacle (Burlington County) native Cassidy Spilis put together an impressive high school career at Seneca before becoming Rutgers’ all-time leader in career goals (266), points (281), and draw controls (313).
“I got a ton of people coming,” Spilis said. “I think my mom invited probably every person she knows in the South Jersey area, so we’re all really excited. I think playing on the East Coast, there’s just such a big demographic of these girls who are starting to love the game of lacrosse. To have the ability for them to come see a game like this, it’s super awesome.”
On May 29, the Charm and Palms matched up for the only other time this season in Baltimore, and Maryland won, 18-17, in overtime. Spilis scored the game-winning goal with 11 minutes, 40 seconds left in the extra period, and she’s hoping to take lessons learned from that game into Saturday.
“[The Palms] have a lot of great players,” Spilis said. “I think one of their biggest strengths is just their middies and their speed in the midfield. That was something that we really learned on the fly during the last game, just trying to compete with that midi speed and stopping in transition.”
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Marie McCool, California Palms midfielder
Moorestown High School alumna Marie McCool has experience playing at Subaru Park. Ten years ago, McCool helped lead North Carolina to a national championship at the Union’s stadium.
“What made it so much even more special — obviously, winning a national championship is amazing — was the fact that I was close to home and I had so many friends and family in the stands and got to enjoy the win with them,” McCool said. “It’s definitely a full-circle moment. … I get to be back here in a championship game, competing in the place that I call home.”
The Moorestown native will have reminders of home behind every corner. The hotel that the Palms are staying in hosted McCool’s high school prom. She is also looking forward to ordering cheesesteaks with Charm goalie Caylee Waters, who played with her at North Carolina.
“I know we’re on different teams,” McCool said. “But when we won the national championship, we got some late-night cheesesteaks together. She’s like, ‘We gotta run it back, no matter what happens.’”