After the UNC Women’s Lacrosse 2024 season, most people doubted the team’s return to greatness. The story of last year was about a team, plagued with injuries, never able to live up to its potential despite staggering talent. That story changed pretty quickly as the star-studded team racked up win after win this year. On May 25, UNC completed its perfect 22-0 season with a national championship — a victory made all the more miraculous by Nicole, Ashley, and Chloe Humphrey, the three sisters who took a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play together.
The girls’ story doesn’t start with this season, though, or even multiple seasons back. It starts in a backyard in Darien, Connecticut, where middle sister Ashley, now 22, decided to start playing lacrosse at age 8. Eldest Nicole, now 24, and youngest Chloe, now 20, later followed suit. From practicing new tricks in the backyard to watching YouTube highlights, the girls all fell in love with the sport. But they never expected their shared passion would land them all on the same college team.
It was a long road to get to this point. Nicole was the first to commit to playing lacrosse at UNC, while Ashley chose to play at Stanford a year later. Then, after playing three years at Stanford, Ashley decided to use the last two years of her collegiate eligibility at UNC, where her older sister had already been playing, and where Chloe, the youngest, had committed to playing her freshman year. However, the same year Ashley went to UNC, Nicole left UNC and transferred to the University of Southern California. Unfortunately, Nicole sustained a season-ending foot injury at USC, meaning she still had one season of eligibility left. And guess where she decided to use it? Yep, back at UNC, where Ashley and Chloe were also on the roster. Finally, the twists and turns gave all the sisters a chance to play together.
In their interview with Her Campus, the Humphrey sisters open up about their journey to playing lacrosse and their one-in-a-million season that ended in a national championship.
Can you tell me about the moment you realized you’re all going to be playing for the same team at UNC?
Nicole Humphrey: It happened back when I had to get surgery for my foot. We were just trying to really think about anything else besides the fact that I was missing the season. It sounded so crazy at the time. It made me really excited. It really felt like that foot injury was meant to happen.
Chloe Humphrey: When Ashley and I were both at Carolina and we found out Nicole wasn’t playing that season, we were like, “Oh my gosh, this is a no brainer.” I was like, “You gotta come back.”
Your parents must be so proud! I heard that your dad said he’d get a UNC tattoo on his ankle if your team won the championship. So, is he getting the tattoo?
Ashley Humphrey: Everyone knows about this tattoo! We think he’s bluffing. We hope he’s bluffing. He might not be, but we’ll see. Nothing is in the works quite yet, but if Chloe wins a couple more…
CH: We’re thinking to hold off until my senior year to see if we have any more [wins]. Then maybe we can get matching ones.
NH: Anyone who knows my dad, a tattoo is not fitting. So I think that just really shows how proud he is of us and how great this whole season was for our whole family.
Ashley, you were the first to get into lacrosse — what drew you to the sport? And Nicole and Chloe, what led each of you to follow suit?
AH: I started playing in third grade, but it was really middle school where I became addicted to it. We obviously had very supportive parents that got us all the bounce backs and nets. So I think it was the combination of a lot of things that just drew me to it. Lacrosse just became my life from there and then my sisters followed very soon after.
NH: I was watching Ashley in the backyard, just experimenting and watching all these videos. And I’d always played lacrosse in the house leagues, but I never tried out for the travel team. I ended up doing gymnastics until eighth grade and then decided to make the switch. Ever since that moment, I really just bought into getting better.
CH: Ashley introduced lacrosse to me, and I immediately fell in love. Nicole introduced me to Carolina. So without these two, this dream would not have even been possible. Ashley would always have film going in our living room. Just watching how passionate Ashley and Nicole were about the sport was so contagious. I think that that’s just what allowed me to hop on the bandwagon.
Nicole, this is your second national championship. How does it compare to winning with your little sisters?
NH: I didn’t expect it to feel as different as it did, but it was just such a different experience. All three of us have gone through so much. The second that we won, it was just so surreal. We all have worked so hard. This doesn’t just go back to the last two years, it goes back to 20 years of us working at this game and growing up together. [My first championship win in] ‘22 was great, but definitely more emotional for this one.
What’s something you learned about each other this season?
NH: We really learned how to talk to each other in a way that was receivable. I think we each learned so much about how we take criticism and we were able to really cater our feedback to each other.
AH: Finding the line between teammate and sister, and upperclassmen and underclassmen, it was interesting to navigate those dynamics. But I think effective communication was the No. 1 thing that we discovered throughout the season … You get to play with people who you’ve been playing with for your entire life. And you can have some hard truths with each other and hear from people who obviously have your best interest in mind. You can also celebrate with your family. I think some of the challenges were just finding that line between sister and teammate. Where someone throws a bad pass, and you’re like, “What was that?” And that’s my sister yelling at me, but it should be my teammate. But having each other around was the most incredible experience.
What moment in this season did each of you realize that you were a part of something special?
CH: I think from the first game, the James Madison game. Last year we lost to them. So when we dominated that game, we kind of looked around like, “OK, was that us playing really well?” That was only the beginning. We knew something was special among this team. Not only the talent level, but the culture was just incredible.
AH: From the preseason, I think we all had our eyes in the national championship. Obviously, [we] had some tough losses the year before, but I think from the first whistle we knew that this was a very special group. People thought that Carolina lacrosse was taking a dip after last year, and we just proved that that wasn’t true. Really being so joyful on the field was integral in our success.
NH: There were so many people injured last year. That was the story of UNC lacrosse. And so that first game was the moment everyone that had been injured and missed the season were able to play. It was just so contagious. The energy was amazing.
AH: Yeah, it was like letting horses out of the stable, like everyone was just ready to go.
How do you hope your story inspires younger or up-and-coming lacrosse players?
CH: Just dream big. We were in the backyard talking about a national championship for years. For it to actually come true, especially having all three sisters on the team like this, is not an experience that we would have ever imagined.
AH: Everything happens for a reason. If people call you crazy, let them. I think if we told someone this story five years ago, they would have looked at us like we had three heads. Just enjoy it. Don’t take it for granted. Continue to love the game.
NH: Hopefully from our story, people can just look at us and see how much adversity we’ve each faced. But when you’re going through something like that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, and it can sometimes lead to something even better.