Canada Wins Inaugural IIJL Women's World Junior Lacrosse Championship

Heading into the fourth and final game of the 2024 IIJL Women's World Junior Lacrosse Championship Super Series Canada led Australia with a cumulative goal differential of +7. 

To start the Championship, Canada lost the Game 1 of the series 10-5, but used the next three games to slowly chip away at the Australia +5 goal differential lead. Game 2 was a low scoring affair with Canada winning 6-4 (+3 Australia). Most notably, Canada leap-frogged Australia and won Game 3 by the score of 15-5, flipping the above mentioned +7 cumulative goal differential in Canada's favour. 

Game 4 was similar to Game 2 as both teams settled in and focused on their own game plans. For Canada that meant conserving energy, playing with limited roster numbers, and using transition to create scoring opportunities. 

[PHOTO Chloe Breen: Canada players celebrating a goal late in the game.]

In Game four Australia took the 1st Quarter 3-1, narrowing the goal differential to only +5 in favour of Canada. Canada locked down and bounced by coming out of the 2nd Quarter, with both teams each scoring twice empowering Canada to maintaining their +5 goal differential lead.

Canada gained additional ground blanking Australia in the opening from of the second half, while scoring two goals of their own; back to +7 goal differential in favour of Canada.

Canada won the 4th Quarter scoring 3 Goals and only giving up 1 Goal for a final goal differential of +8 for Canada, solidifying the inaugural IIJL Women's World Junior Lacrosse Championship Gold Medal. 

[PHOTO Chloe Breen (pictured from left to right): 2024 IIJL Women's World Junior Lacrosse Championship All-World Team; Goaltender - Ava Pinch (Canada), Defender - Lily Hayes (Australia), Defender - Hillary Grehan (Canada), Transition - Elle Dietrich Canada), Forward - Imogen Hall (Australia), Forward - Kasey Goethals (Canada).]

The Canadian Lacrosse league would like to acknowledge and thank our partners at Australian Box Lacrosse, including but not limited to; Ric Benedierks, Dan Hall, Rebecca Halloran, and Cassandra Hall for their dedication and commitment to providing opportunities to young Australians to learn and play box lacrosse internationally. 

"The fifteen young women on our roster overcame a lot of adversity; Coach Wilfong and I are very proud of them." Said Chris Fox, President of the Canadian Lacrosse League. Playing with limited roster numbers Canada was forced to modify their game strategy. "Our players improved every games, we threw a lot of information at them, they took it in stride, and came out on-top." Fox added.

Much of the adversity came prior to the championship as other organizations continue to discouraging players and parents from participating with the CLL. "It was disgusting to see the continued rhetoric and false narratives perpetuated by people 'charged' with the development of lacrosse in Canada, self proclaimed or otherwise. They create artificial roadblocks and take opportunities away from kids - they should be ashamed of themselves." Fox noted.