The United States is on to the gold medal game at the FIL Rathbones Women’s Lacrosse World Cup after beating England 19-8 on Thursday in Guildford, England. The U.S. will meet Canada on Saturday at 10 a.m. (Eastern time) in a rematch of the 2013 World Cup final.
The U.S. downed England 18-1 in pool play last Saturday, and quickly scored two goals in the opening two minutes by Ally Carey and Kayla Treanor, but England put up a much bigger fight in today’s semifinal.
Laura Merrifield and Lucy Lynch answered with back-to-back goals for England to tie the game. The U.S. then scored three straight goals, but England kept within striking distance and Merrifield’s goal with just 32 seconds left in the opening half left the U.S. with a 9-5 halftime lead.
Treanor scored less than a minute into the second half to put the U.S. in double digits, but England’s Camilla Hayes scored her third of the goal to pull the English back to within four goals and it stayed that way for a few minutes behind some solid goaltending from England’s Isabel McNab.
With 24:38 to go in the game, Treanor beat McNab to ignite an eight-goal U.S. run over the next 15 minutes to seal the victory.
Treanor led the U.S. offense with five goals and three assists to earn Player of the Match honors. It was the second time in the tournament that she was named the Player of the Match against England. Treanor set a U.S. team single-game World Cup record with 12 points in the pool play game against England, leaving her with 20 points in her two games against England in this tournament. She is the leading scorer in the tournament with 43 points (24g, 19a).
Michelle Tumolo was one of five U.S. players with two goals and she also added three assists. Devon Wills went the distance in goal to earn the win for the U.S., and she made five of her six saves in the second half.
In the other semifinal, Canada won a wild 8-6 overtime affair against Australia to advance to the World Cup final for the second straight year.
Canada led 5-3 at the half, but then went scoreless for the first 27 minutes of the second half as Australia battled back, taking a 6-5 lead on Hannah Nielsen’s goal with 4:20 to play. Canada’s veteran leader Dana Dobbie responded by ripping a shot into the top right corner, tying the game with 2:41 left.
Australia had the first opportunity in overtime, but Canadian goalie Katie Donohoe saved Sarah Mollison’s offering and then Megan Kinna drove through three players to score the go-ahead goal with 0:18 left in the first overtime.
Playing a player down due to a card, Australia still had another chance in the second overtime, but Ashtyn Hiron’s outside shot was saved by Donohoe and then Alie Jimerson scored the game-clinching goal for Canada.
Donohoe finished the game with 12 saves and was named the Player of the Match.
The U.S. has now reached the championship game of all 10 World Cups held since 1982. The U.S. won the world title in 1982, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2009 and 2013. Australia won the title in 1986 and 2005.
This is Canada’s second trip to the World Cup final in its history and it is assured of winning its fourth overall medal. Canada won bronze in 1982 and 2009 and won the silver in 2013 when the U.S. won the final game by a score of 19-5.
The U.S. beat Canada 17-3 during pool play in a game that favored the U.S. just 3-2 more than 20 minutes into the contest. The U.S. then ripped off 14 straight goals to break it open.
Saturday’s championship game will be live streamed at https://www.247.tv/live/lacrosse/rathbones-lacrosse-world-cup-2017
U.S. Goals: Kayla Treanor 5, Ally Carey 2, Brooke Griffin 2, Marie McCool 2, Katie Schwarzmann 2, Michelle Tumolo 2, Alex Aust 1, Taylor Cummings 1, Kelly Rabil 1, Laura Zimmerman 1..
U.S. Assists: Kayla Treanor 3, Michelle Tumolo 3, Taylor Cummings 1, Brooke Griffin 1.
U.S. Goaltending: Devon Wills (6 saves, 8 GA, 60 min)
England Goals: Camilla Hayes 3, Laura Merrifield 2, Sophie Brett 1, Lucy Lynch 1, Mean Whittle 1.
England Assists: Victoria Anderson 1, Olivia Hompe 1, Kirsten Lafferty 1.
England Goaltending: Isabel McNab (12 saves, 16 GA, 47 min), Sally Keough (3 saves, 3 GA, 13 min)
Playoff Update
Semifinals
Canada 8, Australia 6 (OT)
United States 19, England 8
Championship – Saturday, July 22
United States vs. Canada, 10 a.m. (Eastern)