U.S. Women's U20 National Team Arrives in Hong Kong for World Championship

The U.S. Women’s U20 National Team has arrived in Hong Kong, China, for the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship. The 10-day, 20-team tournament starts Thursday, with the U.S. opening pool play Friday against Germany.

It’s the first world championship of any kind to be held in Asia since 1997 and the first World Lacrosse event to use the new under-20 age designation for junior-level competition.

The United States has won five of seven women’s junior world championships, reclaiming the gold medal five years ago in Peterborough, Ontario.

Head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller is back at the helm for the U.S., a team now comprised mostly of players with multiple years of college lacrosse experience.

After finalizing the travel roster of 22 players last month, Amonte Hiller hosted a training camp at Northwestern, where Shea Baker (Boston College), Brigid Duffy (Army) and Madison Taylor (Northwestern) were named the team’s captains.

The roster features among others: 

• A Tewaaraton Award finalist teaming with a three-time All-American on attack in Northwestern’s Madison Taylor and Boston College’s Emma LoPinto. 
• The hero of the NCAA championship in Boston College goalie Shea Dolce.
• The first-ever service academy players to suit up for the U.S. women in a world championship competition in Army’s two-sport wonder Brigid Duffy and her college teammate Allison Reilly.
• The USA Lacrosse High School National Player of the Year in McDonogh (Md.) standout Kate Levy (North Carolina). 
• And in another first for any U.S. national team (men or women), a Tennessee native in Aliya Polisky (Stanford).

The U.S. concluded its final training camp at Stanford over the weekend and journeyed 14 hours on a flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong landing early Monday morning. The team practiced later in the evening at Boundary Street Recreation Ground.

The team is staying at a hotel in the heart of Hong Kong, walking distance from the iconic Victoria Harbour. There will be meetings and practices Tuesday and a guided tour of the city Wednesday.

Amonte Hiller knows firsthand the challenges and benefits of a trip to Asia for a world championship. She was a member of the 1997 gold medal-winning U.S. senior team that played in front of packed crowds in Edogawa, Japan.

“Remembering how amazing that experience was and how much the Japanese people celebrated the World Cup, I hope it’s the same in Hong Kong, China,” she said at the Northwestern camp. “It was special to be in a totally different culture and country. We were also housing in the middle of the city like we are in Hong Kong. I’m leaning on that experience and making sure that we do things to get our players feeling that way about this process, as well.”

Opening ceremonies are Wednesday at Mong Kok Stadium, which will also be the site of the semifinals and championship games. Before then, the U.S. must get through pool play.

Twenty teams were separated into four groups based on how they finished in 2019 and balanced by continental federation. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the championship playoffs.

Ranked No. 1 in the world, the U.S. is in Pool A with Germany (8th), Puerto Rico (9th), China (14th) and Israel (17th). The Americans’ pool-play schedule (all times U.S. Eastern):

Friday, Aug. 16 – USA vs. Germany – 8 a.m.
Saturday, Aug. 17 – USA vs. Puerto Rico – 8 a.m.
Sunday, Aug. 18 – USA vs. China – 5 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 20 – USA vs. Israel – 5 a.m.

After pool play, teams will be reseeded for the playoffs. The top finishers in each pool will be seeded 1-4 and second-place teams 5-8 based on their records, with potential tiebreakers being goal differential (capped at 12 per game), goals conceded (fewest) and, if needed, a coin flip.

The quarterfinals are Wednesday, Aug. 21, followed by semifinals Thursday, Aug. 22, and medal games Saturday, Aug. 24.

Fans in the U.S. can watch all the games on World Lacrosse’s new streaming service, WLTV.

USA Lacrosse’s content team is in Hong Kong with an all-access pass to the U.S. team. Follow on Instagram and check back here to USA Lacrosse Magazine for stories as the games get underway.