The USA continued its dominance at the World Lacrosse Women's U20 Championship, with China losing to the No. 1-ranked team in the world.
The defending champions defeated China 29-1 on Sunday, having previously beaten Germany 33-0 and Puerto Rico 28-4.
They scored in the first minute and quickly made it clear that the same thing was to be expected against Shih-Hyo: almost every face-off went in their favor and they swarmed the front line, almost always resulting in a goal.
Like most teams in the tournament, China can only do damage limitation, with midfielder Sarah Junlan Curley saying they “need to keep our legs well preserved” for Sunday's game against Puerto Rico.
“We had a tough match tomorrow that was postponed until 8:30 a.m., so we had a game plan to respond quickly,” she said.
China's goalkeeper Jodie Chu Qi-Jia (right) takes the ball out. Photo: Hong Kong, China Lacrosse Association
“We were being a little strategic because we knew tomorrow's game had big implications for the playoffs.”
If China wins their final Pool A match they will progress to the quarter-finals and improve on their 14th place finish in their debut tournament five years ago.
“Our goal is obviously to improve on our last performance,” Curley said, “but we have to keep the momentum going. We want to finish in the top eight.”
At the Hong Kong Football Club, Australia beat Italy 18-3 to take the top spot in Pool C, while Canada maintained their lead in Pool B after beating Chinese Taipei 22-2.
Mia Chao and Anika Lei scored for Chinese Taipei in the fourth quarter. Lei, who will soon move to Canada for college lacrosse, said coach Kinson Wang told her she would “run one lap around the field” if she scored.
“There is a difference in skill level,” Wang said, “but we told our players to just try their best. That's one of our team values.”
The team, ranked 20th in the world, is hoping to boost lacrosse's presence locally, and although the island lacks a full-sized lacrosse field, it is still in the running for the 2028 Olympics.
“Outdoor sports are not common in Taiwan,” Wang said. “Many girls choose indoor sports or don't go outside, so it's a cultural thing that we touch on to get people interested.”
Wang, a native of Hong Kong, took notice of the promotion of lacrosse in his hometown.
“Ten years ago, you only practiced at college,” he says, “but now lacrosse is everywhere.”
