What's NEW With AFA Lacrosse
Covid-19 Summer Season Update
The current pandemic has meant some changes to our summer practice and tournament schedule. Due to community regulations and field closures, our summer season will start later and go longer. Practices will begin on June 1st and extend through early August with two competitive tournament opportunities for each team in late July and Early August. Due to these changes and the need for our athletes to get back into the game, we will be adding MORE practice and training opportunities than were previously planned. We can't wait to get back on the fields with all of you!
AFA Lacrosse 2020 Information
NEW COACH ALERT!
Meredith College's head women's lacrosse coach, Coach Lauren Scott joins AFA Lacrosse as a full season guest coach for AFA Lacrosse 2024 team! Coach Scott will work alongside coach Katie to provide collegiate level training to our 2024 team! Welcome to AFA Coach Scott! |
NEW LACROSSE POSITION ALERT!
Our co-director and coach of the 2021 and 2025 teams, Coach Michael Bagnasco, has accepted the position as assistant women's lacrosse coach at William Peace University in Raleigh. Coach Bagnasco will continue to coach our rec and seasonal travel program with all the additional skills and experience that collegiate coaching brings! Congratulations Coach Bags! |
AFA Coaching Staff
AFA Lacrosse 2020 Coaching Staff
Youth Team:
Coach Terri Wasley
Coach Wasley comes to AFA with seven years of lacrosse coaching experience at the youth, middle school and high school levels. She previously served as the Holly Springs High School varsity women’s coach and is the current JV coach of that program. Coach Wasley was a swimmer growing up and swam competitively at SUNY Oswego in college. Her daughters got her interested in lacrosse and she is now completely dedicated to helping our athletes grow their skill and love of the game. Coach Wasley is a US Lacrosse certified coach.
2026-2027 Team:
Coach Samantha Sopko
Coach Sopko brings a wealth of experience as a player and coach to our AFA program and 2025-2026 team. She started playing lacrosse in middle school at Seneca Middle School and continued to play through high school as a midfielder for Sachem North High School, on Long Island, New York. After earning her teaching degree Coach Sopko started coaching middle school lacrosse first at Samoset Middle School then at her Alma mater, Seneca Middle School. Coach Sopko coached for three years at the middle school level. In her final year, her team was awarded the district sportsmanship award after a successful 8-2 season. Coach Sopko is from a lacrosse family; her father and brother played lacrosse at Sachem North High School and her brother played through college as a goalie. Her husband is also a men’s lacrosse coach with experience at the high school and collegiate level. Coach Sopko recently moved to Holly Springs where she is a PE and Health teacher at Alston Ridge Middle School as well as the school’s cheerleading coach.
Coach Emily Sopko
Coach Emily is a recent graduate of High Point University where she earned a degree in biology and played for the High Point Club lacrosse team which competed in the regional championship in 2017 and 2018. Coach Emily began playing lacrosse when she was 8 years old on the Suffolk County All Stars travel team. She played with that Long Island program throughout middle school and transitioned to the Long Island Express travel team throughout her high school years. She was also a 4 year varsity lacrosse player for the Shoreham Wading River Girls Lacrosse team which won a state championship title in 2012. In college,Most recently, Coach Emily coached the women’s varsity lacrosse team at Glenn High School in Kernersville, NC during the spring of 2019. Coach Emily’s sister-in-law, Samantha Sopko, is the co-coach of our talented 2025-2026 team. Emily is a science teacher at Green Level High School in Cary.
2025 Team:
Coach Michael Bagnasco
For the past eight years, Coach Bagnasco has been a lacrosse coach at the varsity and elite travel level. Coach Bagnasco's teams have won five conference titles, several tournament championships, produced three All Americans, several All Metro and All Conference players, and have been awarded the SWAC player of the year honors in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Coach Bagnasco was the SWAC coach of the year in 2015 and 2018.Coach Bags is the current assistant coach at William Peace University.
2024 Team:
Coach Katie Burnet
Coach Katie began her lacrosse career as one of the most decorated athletes at Apex High School where she was a four year varsity starter and team captain. Katie helped lead the Apex High School team to two State Championship titles, was a 1st team US Lacrosse All American, Academic All American, and 1st team All Conference athlete. Katie was also the Apex High School Most Valuable Female Athlete her senior year. She continued her lacrosse career at DI Longwood University before transferring to Meredith College. At Meredith, Katie was a dominant force on the lacrosse field earning honors as USA South Rookie of the Year in 2013, IWLCA All-Region in 2014 and 2016, Player of the Year and USA South Tournament MVP in 2014, USA South 1st Team All-Conference in 13, 14, 16, and USA South All-Academic Team in 13, 14, 15, 16. Katie was a Meredith Avenging Angels Team Captain and helped lead the team to three USA South Tournament Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Katie brings 5 years of coaching experience at the club level and recently earned her M.S. in Exercise Physiology from UNC Chapel-Hill.
2023 Team:
Coach Abbey Flynn
Coach Abbey was a standout player at Apex High School for four year, including the 2014 State Championship runner up season. She was a team captain, earned 1st team All Conference honors her junior and senior years and earned Academic All Conference honors all four years. Coach Abbey went on to play club lacrosse at ECU for two years and then played for ECU’s Division I team during their inaugural season in 2018. Coach Abbey has been a travel lacrosse coach for the past three years, was the Apex High School varsity assistant coach during the 2019 season, and was the US Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament team assistant for team NC.
2022 Team and Youth Team:
Coach Charlotte “Lottie” Meadows
Coach Lottie Meadows is currently the Assistant Women’s Lacrosse Coach at North Carolina Wesleyan College. She brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Alpha Female Athlete organization including collegiate coaching experience and four summers as an instructor at Meredith College lacrosse camps. She also served at Athens Drive High School as a lacrosse assistant and as a middle school coach and varsity travel coach at a club in Raleigh. She assisted the Apex Women's Lacrosse Team in the spring of 2016 before moving on to her college coaching career. Meadows joined the North Carolina Wesleyan Staff after a distinguished career at USA South Meredith College where she was a member of the Avenging Angels' inaugural 2013 team. As an attacker and team captain, she was an integral part of Meredith's rise to the top of the USA South for three seasons and helped lead the Angels to back-to-back USA South Tournament Championships and NCAA appearances in 2014 and 2015.
2021 Team:
Coach Michael Bagnasco
For the past eight years, Coach Bagnasco has been a lacrosse coach at the varsity and elite travel level. Coach Bagnasco's teams have won five conference titles, several tournament championships, produced three All Americans, several All Metro and All Conference players, and have been awarded the SWAC player of the year honors in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Coach Bagnasco was the SWAC coach of the year in 2015 and 2018.Coach Bags is the current assistant coach at William Peace University.
Lacrosse News
Get Familiar with the changes in Girls' Lacrosse with these links:
Self Start Rule in HS/Girls' Lacrosse
High School Girls' Rules Changes for 2019 Season | US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse Announces 2019 Girls Youth Rule Changes | US Lacrosse
Self Start Rule in HS/Girls' Lacrosse
High School Girls' Rules Changes for 2019 Season | US Lacrosse
US Lacrosse Announces 2019 Girls Youth Rule Changes | US Lacrosse
Weekly Speed and Agility Workshops
As part of our commitment to improving our players in both lacrosse and overall athleticism, AFA Lacrosse will be offering weekly speed and agility workshops as a part of our summer program. These workshops will be available to registered High School and Middle School athletes. Participation is covered by season tuition for AFA Lacrosse.
Spring Rec Lacrosse with AFA
AFA Lacrosse will continue offering spring rec in 2020 for all of our youth through middle school athletes as ALPHA LAX.
ALPHA LAX REGISTRATION
Spring Rec
Important Dates:
February 22 - Practices begin
March 14 - 12U, 14U Playday
March 21 - 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
March 28 - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
April 4 - 8U, 10U Playday, 12U, 14U ONE LOVE TOURNAMENT
April 11 - No Games, Easter Weekend
April 18 - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
April 19 - Make up Day for All Divisions
April 25 - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
May 2 - All Divisions DANNY FOX MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Per NCGLL rules, no grade specific teams are allowed at the rec level and no tryouts are permitted. We have had a great deal of interest from outside our organization, so we encourage our athletes to sign up early to ensure a spot on an Alpha Lax rec team.
Spring Rec
Important Dates:
February 22 - Practices begin
March 14 - 12U, 14U Playday
March 21 - 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
March 28 - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
April 4 - 8U, 10U Playday, 12U, 14U ONE LOVE TOURNAMENT
April 11 - No Games, Easter Weekend
April 18 - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
April 19 - Make up Day for All Divisions
April 25 - 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U Playday
May 2 - All Divisions DANNY FOX MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Per NCGLL rules, no grade specific teams are allowed at the rec level and no tryouts are permitted. We have had a great deal of interest from outside our organization, so we encourage our athletes to sign up early to ensure a spot on an Alpha Lax rec team.