CHARLOTTE NORTH

Some things are clear.

Other things, less so.

It is clear to me that Charlotte North is not human.

Charlotte North is the greatest female lacrosse player of all time.

Arguable?

Perhaps, but let’s look into it.

The graduate student attack, who played her final game in a Boston College Eagles jersey Sunday (05/29), has firmly established her lacrosse legacy.

In spades.

The 2021 Tewaaraton Award winner as the nation’s top player–and a 2022 finalist***–North holds the NCAA career record for goals with 358.

This season she tallied 115 points and recorded 136 draw controls.

A transfer from Duke following her sophomore year, she played an integral part in two of BC’s five consecutive runs to the NCAA championship game, and was instrumental in the Eagles’ 2021 first-ever title.

Even in Sunday’s 12–11 title-game loss to North Carolina, she was–yet again–the best player on the field.

She scored four times and had another 6 shots, facing a wave of quadruple-teaming by the frantic Tar Heel opposition.

She still made highlight-reel plays.

Jamie Ortega, Carolina’s leading scorer and 5-time All-American, kept it short and mighty sweet.

“Kudos to her. She’s the best player I’ve ever played against.”

Women’s lacrosse has enjoyed its share of superstars in the past, and with respect to BC in particular, think Kenzie Kent and Sam Apuzzo.

All-world players and athletes.

North belongs in that company.

Kent and Apuzzo would feel privileged to be in North’s company.

North’s greatest impact may not be felt for several years to come.

When BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein and her staff recruit going forward, well?

North has been an extremely accessible megastar.

BC drew thousands of spectators to their games this season, and North and her teammates made it their business to spend time afterward with the youngsters in attendance.

“Every time Charlotte, Jenn [Medjid], Belle [Smith], any of them sign an autograph, they are changing a kid’s life,” observed Walker-Weinstein.

“I’m just so proud that they are not too big for that and don’t have an ego.

They take the time to treat those little girls the way they would have been treated.”

“I have the best teammates in the world, and the hardest part is having to walk away from them,” North said after Sunday’s championship loss.

“But I’m forever indebted to them for giving me the memories of a lifetime.”

Here’s the deal:

No better teammate.

No better player.

No ego.

No better person.

Exposure and visibility are what they are.

So is radar.

Nobody like Charlotte North should fly under any kind of radar.

[***Postscript: On Thursday June 2, North was presented with the 2022 Tewaaraton Award, becoming the first player since Maryland’s Taylor Cummings (2014-’16) to gain the honor in back-to-back seasons.

It’s the third time since 2018 that a Boston College lacrosse player was named the best in the land–see Apuzzo.]

[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in June 2022.]