The United States opened playoff action with a 31-6 victory over Puerto Rico in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship from Hong Kong, China.
The second-seeded U.S. will face longtime rival Australia in the semifinal round on Thursday at 4 pm local time (4 am Eastern). Australia, the No. 3 seed, defeated Wales, 11-5, in its quarterfinal matchup.
After the U.S. won the opening quarter, 11-0, Puerto Rico scored three of the first five goals of the second quarter, but the U.S. then ripped off six straight goals to close the half and maintained control the rest of the way.
Maddie Epke had a tournament-high 24 draw controls, her fifth straight game in the tournament with double-digit draw controls, to help the U.S. dominate possession. The U.S. won 34 of 39 draws in the game.
Thirteen different players scored goals for the U.S., including 10 with at least two goals. Emma Muchnick, with two goals and two assists, was one of those players and she was named the Player of the Match. Muchnick added four draw controls, two caused turnovers and two groundballs.
Madison Alaimo (2g, 3a) and Madison Taylor (4g, 1a) shared the U.S. lead with five points each and Caitlin Barrett and Brigid Duffy each added four goals.
The U.S. has won the World Lacrosse junior level women’s championship five of the previous seven times it has been held and Australia was its opponent in four of those five championship game victories (1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011). Australia is also one of only two teams to ever beat the U.S in the junior world championship, beating the U.S. 5-4 in the inaugural championship game in 1995. Canada edged the U.S. in the 2015 championship game.
The semifinal game will be streamed live on WL TV.
