Local duo helps United States women edge Canada to win the lacrosse world championship

For the first time ever, the hosts of the women’s lacrosse world championship won the whole thing. The U.S. women won the championship with an 11-8 win over Canada on Saturday in Towson, Md.

On the first day of the tournament on June 29, the U.S. took on Canada in what many thought would be a preview for the gold-medal match. Those assumptions were correct, as the Americans found the Canadians once again for the final game of the championship.

» READ MORE: U.S. reaches final at World Lacrosse Women’s Championship with help from local players

Originally scheduled for a noon opening draw, the game was postponed by 30 minutes as the bronze-medal match went to three overtime periods before crowning England the winner over Australia, 8-7.

Local star Marie McCool (Moorestown) scored a hat trick, which was enough for the Americans to overtake the Canadians. She ended the tournament with 20 goals and 24 points, the most out of any midfielder on the roster in both categories. Rutledge’s Emily Parros assisted a Kayla Treanor goal in the second quarter and had four goals and seven points across eight games.

The U.S. team did not trail for the entirety of the tournament. Midway through the first quarter, McCool broke in the scoring, and the floodgates opened. Within three minutes, the U.S. was up, 3-0. Canada then settled and had two goals of its own. The half ended with the U.S. ahead, 6-4, much closer than the blowouts in the preceding games of the bracket round.

The second half featured more back-and-forth play. Neither team could score more than two straight goals, however the Canadians’ deficit never tightened to fewer than two. Even with a last-minute Canadian woman-up goal, the Americans cruised to a score of 11-8 as time ran out.

“It’s a dream come true, especially with this group of girls,” attacker Sam Apuzzo said of the gold. She finished with a hat trick of her own and had two assists Saturday.

Midfielder Taylor Cummings was named tournament MVP with her 12 goals, 17 points, and 26 draw controls. Along with Cummings, three Americans were named to the All-World team: McCool, Treanor, and defender Alice Mercer.

» READ MORE: Marie McCool, Emily Parros give Team USA a local presence at the lacrosse world championship

Lacrosse fans eager to watch more after this tournament can turn to either the World Games in Birmingham, Ala., or the Premier Lacrosse League All-Star Game in Boston this weekend.

The World Games will feature lacrosse sixes for the first time ever on the world stage. This is a faster paced game than traditional field lacrosse with a smaller field area and shorter, eight-minute quarters. The game also features a 30-second shot clock instead of the traditional 80 seconds at the college level. Lacrosse sixes is meant to grow the audience for the game ahead of the sport’s Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The men’s competition runs from until Tuesday, and the women’s tournament will be from Tuesday to Sunday. The men’s roster includes Villanova graduate Connor Kirst while the women have Philly natives Madison Doucette (West Chester) and Sam Swart (Coopersburg).

At the halfway mark of the PLL season, the stars from the eight teams will take to Boston for the All-Star Game. Some might recognize All Star captain Trevor Baptiste from the Philadelphia Wings. He notably chose Wings teammates Matt Rambo and Blaze Riorden to his squad, while placing Philly locals Michael Sowers (Dresher), Matt Moore (Great Valley), and Tucker Durkin (Huntingdon Valley) to the reserve roster.