SPARKS, Md. – A pair of Villanova women's lacrosse players competed on the national stage last weekend as Wildcats Sophia Corretjer and Isabella Henson-Vendrell played for Team Puerto Rico at The Atlas Cup sixes weekend.
The two were selected to the 12-person roster after an August tryout and participated in three days of action at the USA Lacrosse headquarters from Sept. 26-28.
The Atlas Cup was the first iteration of international teams competing in sixes since The World Games in 2022. This event featured three days of competition in the sixes format that will be utilized for the LA28 Olympics, welcoming top international lacrosse teams in both the men's and women's game.
Corretjer, Henson-Vendrell and Puerto Rico played against Canada, USA and the Haudenosaunee throughout the weekend, taking part in one game on each of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Henson-Vendrell, whose parents were both born in Puerto Rico, has played with the team along with her sister Gabriella Henson-Vendrell since 2019. Isa has now competed in U19 and U20 championships (serving as a team captain), but also played in 2022 with the senior women's team and has now participated in three sixes tournaments.
"Getting to represent Puerto Rico and put that jersey on is a surreal feeling," Isa said. "It makes me feel like I'm in a whole different environment, there's so much passion and culture that's flowing behind that jersey. I'm one of the OGs, it's been six years since I've been with the program and I hope to continue until the Olympics and beyond."
Henson-Vendrell played most recently for the country at the 2025 Pan-American Lacrosse Qualifying Tournament, leading the team with nine points in five games and scoring a goal in the semifinal as Puerto Rico finished as a top four team in the world to qualify for The Atlas Cup.
"As a team, we progressed each game and I think other countries are going to be scared of us because we can compete with the best of the best," Henson-Vendrell said. "Puerto Rico is on the rise."
Corretjer played for Puerto Rico for the first time at the 2025 PALA Qualifiers this summer, with the Henson-Vendrells serving as a key figure in Corretjer looking into the opportunity to represent her heritage.
"I didn't even know it existed before but when I came to Villanova, Gabi and Isa found out I was Puerto Rican and said, 'You have to try out.' Last year I tried out for the first time and don't regret it at all," Corretjer said. "It's just been so cool and I've learned so many new things. I feel closer with my culture since being on this team."
The Puerto Rican team didn't win any of their games over the weekend in Maryland, but Henson-Vendrell and Corretjer both stressed it was the team's growth that mattered the most.
"It's so fun to play with the best against the best," Corretjer said. "We played really well and we got better every game. We started to play better as the weekend went on, the last game we went into overtime against the Haudenosaunee and it was just really fun."
The next chance for these Villanova women's lacrosse players to compete for their nations will be in December when Puerto Rico hosts a sixes tournament, with the goal of competing for the Olympic roster when lacrosse returns to the games in LA28.
In between those, both Sophia and Isa along with other Wildcats will compete for spots at the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship in Tokyo, a full-field lacrosse competition held next year in Japan.
"When we play again, we're coming out strong," Henson-Vendrell said. "We want to shock the world and let people know what Puerto Rico lacrosse is about."
