Syosset's Kendall Halpern to help launch Women's Lacrosse League: 'I didn't know this would be possible'

Women’s professional sports are reaching new levels of success and historic growth.

The WNBA and its players negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement this year that raised player salaries to an average of nearly $600,000 per year, with a maximum salary of $1.4 million. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is thriving with 16 teams, and the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) started in 2023 with six teams and has increased to 11.

And now there is professional women’s lacrosse. The Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), which was created in 2024 by the Premier Lacrosse League, will begin its inaugural outdoor season Saturday in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with a game between New York Charging and the Boston Guard.

“I mean, the data is overwhelming,’’ PLL co-founder Paul Rabil said of the increasing popularity of women’s sports. “I think women’s sports is one of the most undervalued asset classes in professional sports, so we’re really excited, as is [PLL broadcast partner] ESPN, to continue to invest in the WLL and launch this first season.’’

The new league features four teams: the Guard and Charging, the California Palms and Maryland Charm. The league competed in six-on-six play indoors in the PLL’s Championship Series in February 2025 and 2026, but this will be the first time the WLL is competing outdoors in full-field, 10-on-10 competition.

“It’s incredibly special,’’ said Charging defender Kendall Halpern, a Syosset native and Syosset High School grad who played college lacrosse at Northwestern. “I didn’t know this would be possible just a couple years ago. So, being able to play on the New York team with a bunch of my former [college] teammates, and new teammates, against such an amazing Boston team is going to be a great way for fans to see what women’s lacrosse is all about.

“And with the NCAA Tournament [going on] right now . . . there’s such amazing resources for young girls to watch our game at the highest level.’’

The WLL teams will each play four games — once against each other team, and a second game against one team — over eight weekends, plus an All-Star Game in Annapolis July 5, and a championship game Aug. 15 in Philadelphia. The Charging will play on Long Island June 20, hosting the Maryland Charm, in a doubleheader with the PLL’s New York Atlas, who will be hosting the Maryland Whipsnakes.

Halpern, 23, lives in Manhattan now, and works full time for the CAA sports agency, serving as an assistant to several sports agents. She trains on a turf field near her apartment at 6 a.m. every day, then goes to the gym, then to work. There’s also a wall nearby where she can play wall ball to sharpen her stick skills.

Playing professional lacrosse is one dream that is coming true for Halpern, but there’s another she’s working on. Lacrosse is going to be part of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and Halpern, who has been part of the Team USA player pool, would love to make the Olympic team.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s the goal every single day,’’ she said. “That’s been in the back of my head ever since that became an opportunity, just a few months ago. That’s part of the reason I’m still playing today. [The Olympics are] an absolute dream of mine . . . a year ago, never thought that would be possible.’’

Playing in the WLL is not only an achievement in and of itself, but also a step that will help her reach her Olympic dream, as well.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.