After day two at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women’s Lacrosse Championship in Queensland, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Australia and the Philippines all improved to 2-0 to secure their places in the semifinals and consequently, a berth in the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship.
Japan also moved to 2-0 with a strong win over Korea and has already qualified for the championship as host.
Chinese Taipei stunned New Zealand in a historic 13-10 win to qualify for its first ever appearance at the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in 2026 in Japan.
The back-and-forth affair was the best game of the tournament so far, with New Zealand erasing a 10-6 deficit at the end of the third quarter with a gutsy late run. Chinese Taipei had the last say and finished the game off with three goals to spark jubilant celebrations at the final whistle.
Tabitha Goon posted six goals to lead the attack and goalkeeper An-Ju Lee was named the player of the match for an outstanding effort against a spirited New Zealand barrage. Annika Wray also added four goals .
Chinese Taipei improved six spots between junior women’s championships in 2019 and 2024 to finish 14th this past August and now is one of the four APLU teams slated in the 16-team field in 2026.
New Zealand finished in 12th place in the last edition of the event in 2022 and has appeared in the event five times dating back to 2005.
Chinese Taipei improved to 2-0 in Pool B and will face Japan on Wednesday to determine seeding ahead of the semifinals, which take place on Friday.
Japan opened the day with a 17-1 win over Korea to improve to 2-0.
Four different players scored three goals or more for Japan in a dominant effort, led by Nene Kawai with four goals, who was named the player of the gme.
As the host in 2026, Japan was automatically qualified for the Women’s Championship, but will finish as a top-four team from the Asia-Pacific region regardless as it seeks to take home the title for a fifth consecutive time.
Australia also stayed perfect in its host campaign with a comfortable 20-3 win over China.
Despite the 2-0 record, Australia had to await the result of the final game between the Philippines and Hong Kong, China before it punched its ticket to 2026, but a 14-2 Philippines triumph ensured the Aussies team will be on its way.
Ten different players scored for Australia as it spread out the attacking contributions. Three different players recorded a hat trick and Olivia Parker was named the player of the game.
In the final game of the day, the Philippines led from start to finish in an emphatic 14-2 triumph over Hong Kong, China.
Not only does this ensure the debutants will compete in the semifinals later this week, but it clinches a ticket to Japan where the Philippines will mix it with the world’s best for the very first time.
