Two decades ago, Rachael DeCecco reached the peak of women’s lacrosse. Now, she’s helping lead a pro league.
The inaugural championship is Saturday at Subaru Park, and the Philly-area location was a "no-brainer" for DeCecco, a Marple Newtown alumna.
Rachael DeCecco had long believed that her lacrosse career was over.
After years of playing at Marple Newtown High School, then at Princeton and for the U.S. World Cup team in 2005, the Delaware County native had reached the pinnacle of women’s lacrosse at the time.
She had made peace with that and transitioned to work in healthcare administration for senior living facilities. That was until over a decade later, when the Premier Lacrosse League helped her revive her lacrosse muscles, this time on the administrative side, in 2020.
Now, DeCecco is the senior vice president of the PLL and Women’s Lacrosse League, helping pave the way for other women to continue their lacrosse careers with opportunities she didn’t have.
“Playing professionally was never something that was even a whisper of possibility,” DeCecco said. “If it had been a real opportunity, I definitely would have tried.”
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Dozens of women have gotten the chance to do just that, and several will compete in the inaugural WLL championship game Saturday at Subaru Park in Chester. The Maryland Charm will face the California Palms (2 p.m., ESPN) at the home of the Union, and the venue was chosen to highlight the lacrosse culture in the Philadelphia area.
“It’s a no-brainer for me, personally,” DeCecco said of the decision. “Philly lacrosse has been something that’s been big forever. It’s a great sports market, and so many of the roots were born in Philly. … It does become sort of this generational expectation that you’re going to play lacrosse. It’s really fun to see that generation over generation.”
Eight players and a coach from the Maryland Charm have ties to the area. Some of the game’s stars are among this group, including Marie McCool, a Moorestown native who recently became a three-time world champion with the U.S. women’s lacrosse team, which won its fifth consecutive championship Aug. 2 in Japan. Fifteen of the 22 players on the U.S. team now play in the WLL.
For DeCecco, who is a two-time NCAA champion and a silver medalist with the U.S. World Cup team in 2005, the WLL championship is an up-close view of female athletes who are playing at the highest level.
“It’s going to be an incredible display of athleticism and skill and competition,” DeCecco said. “This is the beginning of something that everybody’s worked really hard to get to where we are. You only get one — they will be the first champions ever. That only happens once. It’s a really cool opportunity.”
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Despite her playing days being “long gone,” she says she’s looking forward to watching some of her favorite players on the field.
“Bridgid Duffy, I watch her play and I’m like, ‘Is she on ice skates?’” DeCecco said. “She’s just gliding through it, and then she rips a shot and you’re like, ‘Wow.’”
“I’m watching the games and helping run the games, and it’s really hard for me to not scream, ‘My gosh, did you see that?’ Like, that was one of the most athletic things I’ve ever seen, and it happens 10 times a game. So I’m a fan as well, but it’s hard. I have to keep my business face on.”
Saturday’s championship caps a season that featured 10 games between the league’s four teams, both numbers DeCecco hopes will grow in years to come.
“This isn’t the end goal,” she said. “I think and hope we’ll have more TV distribution, more games, more teams. In 10 years, I fully believe kids will grow up saying, ‘I want to be a professional lacrosse player.’ That didn’t exist before.”