BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, USA –? The United States and Canada advanced to the gold medal match with winning efforts in their semifinals on the fourth day of women’s competition at The World Games 2022.
The two undefeated teams – the top two seeds in the tournament – will meet at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in the final lacrosse contest at The World Games. The bronze medal match will take place at 7:00 p.m. CT, with Australia battling Great Britain.
Both matches will be available live on the Olympic Channel in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world, with some?exceptions.
The United States advanced out of the first semifinal with a 21-5 rout of Great Britain, keyed by a 7-1 second quarter. Eight of the United States’ 10 field players recorded three or more points in one of the most balanced offensive showings of the tournament. Ellie Masera led the way with six goals and two assists, and Caitlyn Wurzburger added two goals and two assists. Wuzrburger brought her assist total to a tournament-high nine.
Canada finished off Australia with a late flurry to win its semifinal, 12-7. Canada used a 6-0 second quarter run to take a 7-2 lead, but Australia roared back with five goals in the third quarter to close the gap to 8-7. Canada ultimately found the last four goals of the game to pull away. Dana Dobbie erupted for six goals on six shots in her best game of the tournament, taking over in the second quarter with five unanswered goals. Nicole Perroni and Megan Kinna both tallied four points, and Lauren Spence made 13 saves on 20 shots in goal.
Addie Cunningham made 12 saves on 24 shots for Australia.
The Haudenosaunee claimed the first win of the day in the seventh-place match, defeating the Czech Republic, 13-8. The Haudenosaunee trailed at halftime but came out of the break with a 5-0 third quarter to grab the lead for good. Jacelyn Lazore sparked the Haudenosaunee offense with six goals, including a hat trick as part of the third quarter run. Jalyn Jimerson chipped in two goals and two assists, and goalkeeper Paige Crandall made 12 saves on 20 shots to reach a tournament-high total of 45 saves.
Anna Lottman and Michaela Srchová each scored three goals for the Czech Republic while Anna Ni?ová made 15 saves.
Israel snuck by Japan, 13-12, in a thrilling fifth-place match that featured six lead changes and five goals in the final four minutes. Japan took an 11-10 lead, before Israel responded with two goals to lead 12-11. Japan found an equalizer with 57 seconds to play through Negai Nakazawa, but Sammy Jo Tracy had the last word with 11 seconds left to decide the game for Israel.
Lindsey McKone and Olivia Mannon led Israel with four points, while Ilana Koffman and Tracy rounded out the attack with three points. Goalkeeper Julie Krupnick made 13 saves.
Nakazawa scored four goals to finish the day with a tournament-high 16 goals. Goalkeeper Mayo Tomita made 16 saves on 29 shots on goal.
July 15 Results
7th Place
Czech Republic 8, Haudenosaunee 13
5th Place
Japan 12, Israel 13
Semifinals
United States 21, Great Britain 5
Australia 7, Canada 12
July 16 Schedule
7 p.m. // Bronze Medal Match: Australia vs. Great Britain
8:30 p.m. // Gold Medal Match: Canada vs. United States
A full schedule, standings and live statistics are available at?TWG2022.com/results.
