Last Saturday, the United States won the World Lacrosse U-20 women’s lacrosse championship, beating Canada by a score of 23-6.
So, why do I think this is the worst possible thing to happen to the women’s game, a short four years before the Sixes version of the game is introduced at the Los Angeles Olympics?
I’ve always been a skeptic as to whether the game of lacrosse should be included as an Olympic sport, given the lack of competition worldwide. As of a decade ago, there was little to no competition in the sport in Africa, South America, and South Asia. Since then, there has been lacrosse started in enough countries to at least get the International Olympic Committee to add the Sixes version to the Olympic program: 30 teams participated in the 2022 World Cup in Towson, Md., albeit the two Africa qualifiers, Kenya and Uganda, withdrew.
But the lack of equitable competition at the U-20 level worries me. The U.S. team, led by the likes of Emma LoPinto, Maddie Epke, Shea Dolce, and Madison Taylor, didn’t just win. They flat-out dominated every single team they played. In seven games, they outscored their opponents 211-20.
You do the math.
Yes, the American side is raising the bar for everyone else around the world, and eventually, other nations will find ways to compete, whether it is getting more players interested in the sport, or refining training methods.
But I’m amazed at what the results of this tournament were. I expected the Haudenosaunee to compete for a Final Four berth; instead, they finished 11th. England, a team which has given American sides fits over the years, finished sixth. Australia was fourth.
Instead, the surprise teams in this tourney were Japan, which finished on the podium with the bronze, fifth-place Puerto Rico, and eight-place Italy.
Yep, Italy.
Maybe someone on one of these surprise sides may find themselves in the medals in Los Angeles, but I’m skeptical that someone will break the USA-Canada duopoly four years hence.
