The Maryland Charm are champions, and the winning goal came from a player who learned the sport in Potomac.

Alex Aust Holman, a Bullis School graduate and current University of Maryland assistant coach, scored with five minutes left in the fourth quarter to lift the Charm past the California Palms 16-13 on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa. The victory gave Maryland the first Women's Lacrosse League championship in the league's history, according to USA Lacrosse.

Holman finished with a hat trick. Less than 10 months after giving birth to her son, Tiger, she delivered one of the game's biggest performances on a stage built by two other Montgomery County products.

The WLL is part of the Premier Lacrosse League, co-founded by brothers Paul and Mike Rabil. Paul Rabil grew up in Montgomery Village and presented the inaugural championship trophy to the Charm after the final whistle, according to the league. The WLL launched in November 2024 as the PLL's biggest investment in women's lacrosse, per a league announcement.

"It's just a sense of belief that all of us had in each other," Holman said after the game. "I think the amount of confidence that your teammates can give you and just constantly having each other's backs, we never wavered."

The Charm had finished last in both the 2025 and 2026 WLL Championship Series before the breakthrough. Head coach Emily Parros employed a two-goalie system that held the Palms to a season-low 13 goals. Caylee Waters made eight saves in the first half, then Jenika Cuocco locked down the second half with nine saves. California had never previously been held under 16 goals and had scored 21 in its previous game.

Championship game MVP Sydni Black led the offense with four goals. Ashley Humphrey added four assists, and Holman's game-winner came off a pass from Cassidy Spilis.

Maryland led 9-7 at halftime before California tied it at 9-9 in the third quarter. The Charm pulled away in the fourth.

The league uses the Olympic Sixes format, the same six-on-six style that will debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics when lacrosse returns as a medal sport for the first time in more than a century. Seven former Maryland Terrapins played for the Charm in the title game, per UMD Athletics.

Holman, a 2013 National Attacker of the Year and 2017 World Cup gold medalist, was the first player ever named to the Charm roster when the league launched. She played at Bullis from 2005 to 2009 before starring at Maryland, as Montgomery Community Media reported.

The next major event on the WLL calendar is the Lexus Global Lacrosse Games, scheduled for Dec. 8-13 at The St. James outside Washington, D.C.