World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship: US confirm status as world’s best in one-sided final
- Hong Kong lacrosse boss Raymond Fong says thousands of fans watched games across 10 days of action in city
The World Lacrosse Women’s U20 World Championship came to an end on Saturday, with the United States confirming their status as the world’s best with a comprehensive 23-6 mauling of Canada in the final at Mong Kok Stadium.
Around 2,500 fans gathered at the 6,000-seat stadium to the watch the US take their sixth title, in what was the first time the tournament has been held in Asia.
While heavy downpours throughout the week forced games to be rescheduled, with matches moved Sham Shui Po Sports Ground and Kowloon Tsai Sports Ground to Football Club, the head of the city’s lacrosse association said the event had still been a “huge success”.
“I’m gonna say, it’s a huge success, but ever since the opening day, it’s been raining solidly for all of the tournament,” Raymond Fong, CEO of the Hong Kong, China Lacrosse Association, said.
“We had booked Football Club as a backstop, fortunately, but it wasn’t as easy as just moving the teams, the entire logistics and communications was a bit of a challenge. But we pulled it off the best we could.”
Wong said ticket sales had been “great” and only 15 to 20 per cent were bought for single games, while the rest had been from fans planning to see the whole tournament.
The CEO said he believed between “30,000 and 40,000 people” had watched the tournament over the space of 10 days, with the city hosting eight games at day at the busiest moments.
Officials said some 2,500 people had watched the final, while around 2,300 had been at the opening ceremony on August 15. However, there were instances when the number of supporters at games involving teams from Hong Kong, China, Ireland, Jamaica, Canada and the US barely rose above 100.
Fong said he hoped the tournament would get more Hongkongers involved in the sport, and said city would again host the World Lacrosse Super Sixes with coaches hoping to have men’s and women’s teams qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“It’s a mountain for us to climb, but we will climb that mountain,” Fong said.
Hong Kong finished 14th overall, slightly down from the 12th place finish they managed at their debut in Canada five years ago.
Saturday’s final provided little in the way of shock. The United States had been steamrollering teams all week, scoring 33 goals in games against both Germany and Australia. And they never looked troubled as they swept Canada aside to pick up their sixth world title from a possible eight.
“We really stuck to the game plan, we wanted to be aggressive but also very disciplined at the same time,” Kelly Hiller, the US head coach, said.
“I think our girls stayed cool throughout in terms of their emotional control; it was a great, great game.”
Canada and Australia are the only other teams to have won the tournament, with the North American side featuring in the last three finals.
“It was certainly a difficult match-up, and we knew going in that Team USA was a powerful and difficult team,” Tami Rayner, the Canada head coach, said.
“Hats off to them, they played an incredible tournament, an incredible game, but I think we made the moment a little bit bigger than it was, and we needed to be better.”
Earlier in the day, there were scenes of jubilation in the Japan camp, after they beat Australia 14-5 in the bronze medal match.
That win not only secured their best finish at the tournament but also their first bronze medal for the country at any lacrosse world championship.
