Ivy League Barrier Breaker

A Dartmouth lacrosse goalie has broken a barrier in Major League Lacrosse. Devon Wills has become the first woman to sign with a MLL team.

Former Dartmouth College All-American and two-time Women’s World Cup gold medalist Devon Wills has broken a significant barrier in sport. Today, Wills became the first woman to ever sign with a Major League Lacrosse team when the New York Lizards (formerly the Long Island Lizards) signed her to a contract. According to an article on Devon Wills on “Dartmouth Sports,” “Fresh off leading the US to its second straight FIL World Cup this summer in Oshawa, Ontario, Wills will now have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot this April when the Lizards’ training camp begins. A three-time All-American and Ivy League First Team player, Wills has a wealth of big-game experience, including leading the Big Green to the Final Four in 2005 and 2006 as well as winning gold at the World Cup in 2009 and 2013. In her first World Cup, Wills was named the Player of the Match in the championship game, helping the US beat Australia while making eight saves along the way.”

As you may note, the Lizards have broken barriers before when they signed our friend the first openly gay professional team sport athlete (who was originally drafted by the Boston Cannons). He never played in a game for the Cannons, but he did suit up and play for the Lizards. This player, Andrew Goldstein, was also an All-American goalie out of Dartmouth College and he happened to play at the same time as Wills. We salute the Lizards for breaking barriers not once but twice with not one but two Dartmouth lacrosse goalies. What chutzpah! And Ivy Coach is the first to report this connection, even beating “Outsports” and “Towleroad” to press.