Quick Recap: U.S. 13, Canada 5

PETERBOROUGH, Ontario — Twenty minutes before the game even began, the stands were packed at Trent University’s Justin Chiu Stadium. And the fans kept pouring in.

For the first 15 minutes they were treated to an intense, edge-of-your-seat battle between the two favorites at the 2019 World Lacrosse Women’s U19 World Championship.

Canada won the first three draws of the game, but Ally Murphy set the early tone for the game. Murphy forced a turnover on Canada’s first possession, Belle Smith was fouled going for the ground ball and then Michaela McMahon raced down the middle of the field and scored the first U.S. goal less than a minute into the contest.

“I was just thinking about burying it and opening up the game for USA with a goal,” said McMahon. “It was just such an awesome feeling getting the team hyped up.”

The U.S. offense struggled to break through again, but the defense answered the call. Canada committed six turnovers in the first quarter.

“For me the best feeling is getting those turnovers,” said U.S. defender Brooklyn Neumen, who shared the team lead with Murphy and Izzy Scane with two caused turnovers.

“We came out of the gate just being aggressive and trying to put the pressure on Canada,” said assistant coach Ann Whidden. “I thought we did a great job causing some turnovers, picking up ground balls and pushing transition.”

By the end of the first quarter, Player of the Match Maddie Jenner flipped the draw battle, helping to ignite a run of seven straight draw wins.

With that came a flurry of eight straight U.S. goals, including a 7-0 advantage in the second quarter and the U.S. downed the reigning world champions 13-5.

It was a great night for the U.S. team, made better by an electric atmosphere.

“It was awesome,” said U.S. head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. “Canada and Peterborough have done a great job in hosting this tournament. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of and I feel really blessed to be here.”

“It’s so amazing,” said McMahon. “I’ve played in big games for Penn and high school, but it doesn’t compare to playing in a USA uniform and stepping out with this big crowd and playing against Canada on their home field. It’s such an amazing feeling and it’s so much fun being out there.”

“So much fun,” said Neumen. “It’s really cool having everyone come from all over the world to watch our games. The fans are great, it’s wild.”

The U.S. will regroup after clinching the top overall seed for the tournament before beginning bracket play on Tuesday. But there’s a long road ahead.

The U.S. won the pool play game against Canada 15-9 in 2015, but the Canadiens came back to win the gold medal game.

“Look at the last World Cup. This isn’t over,” said Amonte Hiller. “That’s what we said right after the game. They need to stay humble and hungry. It’s a long tournament and we need to be focused on getting better so that we’re at our best in the championship game. That’s where we want to get to. We want to have a chance to play for the championship and we want to be at our best for that game.”