“Lacrosse is a game of runs,” is one of the oldest sayings in the sport.
As it turns out, in a game with so much unknown, it was that old expression which defined the day. Team USA won the first ever Women’s gold medal at the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships with a 10-7 victory over Canada on the back of an epic third period comeback.
In their first game of the tournament (or ever for that matter) against Canada, the Americans used a massive fourth quarter run to overcome a persistent Canadian lead and take home the gold.
The USA led 2-0 early in the game, but Canada put together a run and led for most of the second half. A Dacia Cordingley goal with just over 8 minutes remaining put the Canadians ahead 7-5, with the gold medal seemingly within reach.
But the Americans scored 4 in less than 4 minutes of gametime, with tallies from Livy Rosenzweig, Riley Ewing, Erin Bakes, and Charlotte North. Ally Kennedy added an insurance marker with less than a minute to play to seal the victory and stun the Canadians.
The victory marked the culmination of the inaugural women’s WLBC, and the first ever game between Canada and USA at the tournament. Unlike the men’s bracket, the two powers did not meet in the round robin, leaving a lot of unknown for the finals.
It was a tournament defined by incredible dominance from both of the finals participants. The Canadians conceded just 5 goals total in the six games leading up to the finals, which included shutouts in the first four games. The Americans weren’t far behind, with a combined 14 goals conceded in the leadup to the final game.
Rosenzweig led the Americans with 3 goals and 2 assists in the finals, while Kennedy and Bakes added 2 goals each. Kennedy was named the inaugural MVP of the women’s WLBC, and was named to the all-tournament team alongside Bakes and American goaltender Ingrid Boyum. Canada’s Jordan Dean, Megan Kinna, and Erica Evans were all named to the all-tournament team as well.
Boyum made several key saves in the third period, including a 1v1 save against Evans with just 2:55 remaining in the contest.
Kennedy finished second on the team in goals with 24 in the tournament (North had 25), while Bakes led the scoring in total with 22 goals and 17 assists.
Evans led the Canadians through the tournament with an incredible 33 goals and 22 assists, easily leading the tournament by 16 points. Kinna finished with 24 goals and 13 assists.
England’s Alex Drewe was the highest scoring player of the women’s WLBC from outside of the North-American powers. She finished with 23 goals and 11 assists.
After the WLBC tournament and the U20 women’s tournament this summer, the next major women’s world lacrosse tournament will be the Senior Women’s Championship in Japan in 2026.