TOWSON, Maryland, USA – The United States closed another day at the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship with a resounding win, 16-5 over Australia. The USA, Japan, New Zealand and Israel each now have three wins to lead the tournament.
The races for the top spots in each pool have heated up, and day four featured a handful of contests with important stakes for seeding.
Three Headlines:
Israel held on for a 14-11 win over a previously undefeated Puerto Rico team to improve to 3-0 and take control of Pool B. Lindsey McKone dominated in the circle and on offense with four goals, three assists and six draw controls in one of the performances of the tournament.
Mexico came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to stun Italy, 8-5, and remain undefeated in Pool F alongside the Czech Republic, which they face tomorrow. Mexico entered the event seeded 20th and Italy was seeded 11th. Goalkeeper Isabella McCullough played a crucial role in her 30 minutes in net, making eight saves on nine shots on goal.
Hong Kong, China continued its strong start to the tournament with a 15-2 win over Austria to join New Zealand as undefeated teams in Pool D. Hong Kong has allowed just three goals in two games to claim the best scoring defense in Towson so far. Wing Yi Lam paced the offense with four goals and two assists.
Three more stars:
Kristina Grovom scored four of Switzerland’s eight goals, including the sudden death winner in an 8-7 overtime win over Argentina.
Kokora Nakazawa (Japan) registered five goals and two assists in a win over China. She ranks third in Towson in goals with 12.
Kayla Treanor sparked the United States’ offense with two goals and four assists against Australia. She is the sixth player to record four or more assists in a game at the championship.
A full recap of day four can be found below.
Japan started off day four at the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship with a 19-1 win over China, becoming the first team to reach 3-0. Japan tied the mark for the fewest goals allowed in a game with one, and Japan now has the second lowest goals-against-average at the tournament.
Kokora Nakazawa led Japan’s offense with five goals and two assists while Chisa Kobayashi added three assists. Overall, Japan leads the field with 9.3 assists per game.
Hong Kong, China returned to action after a day off on Friday with a dominant 15-2 win over Austria to improve to 2-0 and take the lead in Pool D. Hong Kong has allowed just three goals in two games to stake a claim the best scoring defense in Towson.
Hong Kong won the draw control battle 18-3, led by six from Charlotte Hartley. Wing Yi Lam paced the offense with four goals and two assists while Mya Wang and Steffi Sze each recorded three-goal efforts.
The Netherlands picked up their first win of the tournament by outlasting Norway, 7-4, to move to 1-1. Goalkeeper Amarins Brandsma played 45 minutes and made five saves on seven shots on goal in a tightly contested game.
Sarah Sweerts de Landas Wyborgh led the offense for the Netherlands with three goals on three shots.
Norway’s goalkeeper, Kine Ødegård, made six saves in defeat.
Mexico came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to stun Italy, 8-5, on day four of the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship.
Mexico entered the event seeded 20th and Italy was seeded 11th. Mexico stayed undefeated with a 2-0 record and vaulted into second place in Pool F.
Goalkeeper Isabella McCullough played a crucial role in her 30 minutes in net, making eight saves on nine shots on goal. Her save percentage of 82% ranks second among all goalkeepers in Towson.
Mexico’s offense was led by Daniela Eppler Lobato with three goals and Isabela Szejk, who tallied two goals and an assist.
Stephanie Colson scored four of Italy’s five goals and remains the top goalscorer in Towson with 14.
Latvia picked up its first win of the tournament with a 9-5 victory over Jamaica, keyed by a 22-12 ground ball advantage.
Four players each scored two goals in a balanced effort: Ieva Zeiļuka, Estere Urbančika, Laura Liepiņa, Laura Baltmane.
Latvia is now tied on record in Pool C with Wales, and will face Wales in its final pool play game on Monday.
Israel outlasted Puerto Rico, 14-11, in a Pool B blockbuster between two undefeated teams. Israel improved to 3-0 behind a transcendent performance from Lindsey McKone, who registered four goals, three assists and six draw controls.
McKone entered the day ranked third in the tournament in draw controls and had to contend with Puerto Rico’s Skylar Carrasquillo, who ranked second. McKone’s six outpaced Carrasquillo’s one, and overall, Israel’s 16-12 edge in the circle was a factor in the three-goal game.
Israel was also buoyed by four goals and three draw controls by Dani Jacobstein.
Sweden picked up its first win of the tournament with a 9-4 decision over Colombia. Goalkeeper Amanda Eriksson played her part in limiting Colombia’s offense with seven saves on 11 shots.
Eight different players got on the scoresheet for Sweden as they outshot Colombia, 31-13. Sweden collected 28 ground balls, the second-most in a game so far.
Switzerland edged Argentina, 8-7, in the first game of the tournament to go to overtime. Kristina Grovom scored the sudden death winner with her fourth goal of the game.
Anouk Andres added three goals and the assist for Grovom in overtime.
Mercedes ONeil scored four goals for Argentina with her second multi-goal game in a row.
England stayed unbeaten with an 18-7 win over Scotland, that was called due to inclement weather with 9:27 left in the fourth quarter.
England outshot the Scots 26-9 in a dominant two-way effort. They ended the night with a top-ten scoring offense (15.0) and scoring defense (5.5).
Olivia Hompe scored five goals and Torz Anderson and Megan Whittle each added a hat trick.
New Zealand cruised to a 10-1 win over Spain to improve to 3-0. The game was called due to inclement weather with with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter.
Eight players scored for New Zealand, led by Nikki Fordyce with two goals and two assists. The New Zealand defense limited Spain to just eight shots on the evening and became the third team in the tournament to hold an opponent to just one goal. New Zealand now has the third best scoring defense in Towson.
The United States became the fourth team to reach 3-0 with a 16-5 win over Australia in the day four finale. Marie McCool, Kayla Treanor and Sam Apuzzo filled up the USA scoresheet and all recorded over four points.
Caylee Waters impressed in goal against a potent Australian attack and made six saves on ten shots faced.
Schedule for Sunday, July 3
All matches will be carried on ESPN+
10 a.m. – Norway vs. Puerto Rico, Tiger Field
11 a.m. – Hong Kong vs. Ireland, Unitas Stadium
1 p.m. – Czech Republic vs. Mexico, Tiger Field
2 p.m. – Argentina vs. China, Unitas Stadium
3 p.m. – Austria vs. Spain, Lower Field
4 p.m. – Colombia vs. Italy, Tiger Field
5 p.m – Scotland vs. Australia, Unitas Stadium
6 p.m. – Netherlands vs. Korea, Lower Field
7 p.m. – Switzerland vs. Haudenosaunee, Tiger Field
8 p.m. – England vs. Canada, Unitas Stadium
