The Maryland Charm will face the California Palms on May 29 at 8:30 p.m. at Loyola’s Ridley Athletic Complex, part of the Women’s Lacrosse League’s inaugural barnstorming season.
The game is part of the Premier Lacrosse League’s Baltimore weekend, with the Maryland Whipsnakes playing on May 29 at 6 p.m. and on May 30 at 5:30 p.m.
The Charm are loaded with local connections: attackers Sydni Black (Loyola), Aurora Cordingley (Maryland, Johns Hopkins), Alex Holman (Maryland) and Livy Rosenzweig (Loyola), midfielders Erica Evans (Canisius, Maryland) and Grace Griffin (Maryland), defenders Abby Bosco (Penn, Maryland), Megan Douty-Marino (Maryland) and Maddy Sterling (Maryland) and goalie Emily Sterling (Maryland).
But one of the true homecomings belongs to Black, who played at Loyola from 2021-2024. The 5-foot-3 attacker scored 178 goals, dished out 70 assists and picked up 59 ground balls throughout her four-year career with the Greyhounds.
“How lucky am I to play at home professionally with the Maryland Charm at Loyola? Incredible. So excited,” Black said on Glenn Clark Radio May 28. “When I got the news from the league when the schedule came out and I saw we were over at Ridley instead of down at Hopkins this weekend, oh my gosh, at a loss for words. So excited to be home.”
The game also marks a return home for Rosenzweig, who played for the Greyhounds from 2018-2022. The 5-foot-7 attacker is fifth in goals in program history (209).
“After college, you never know if you’re going to play with any of your teammates again,” Black said. “To be able to play with Livy is pretty exciting for me — obviously a very close friend, but a mentor since I stepped on campus at Loyola, too. To be able to go out there for our first game professionally together with the Charm is really exciting. To do it at home, again, incredible.”
The WLL kicked off in February 2025, with four teams, including the Charm, competing in the WLL Championship Series. The WLL All-Star Game took place in July as part of PLL All-Star Weekend. The Championship Series was played in a six-on-six format, while the All-Star Game was played in a full-field 10-on-10 format.
This year, though, marks the WLL’s first year barnstorming with the PLL. The WLL will take part in nine of the PLL’s twelve stops as well as All-Star Weekend. The Charm will play games in Baltimore, Long Island, Chicago and Connecticut. It’ll be a full-field 10-on-10 format.
Black’s goal is simple — win.
“We’re incredibly proud to be representing Maryland on the Charm,” Black said. “After training camp a couple weeks ago, we stayed in very close touch. We’ve built chemistry incredibly quickly as we’ve added folks to the roster — college draft picks. We’re excited. We’re ready to go. I think you’re going to see a very gritty, a very fast and exciting team. We have the best players in the world, hands down, on our team, so you’re definitely going to see a show from all of us.”
For more from Black, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the PLL