USA Lacrosse Presents “State of the Sport” Webinar

SPARKS, Md. – The United States women’s national team will begin defense of its world title against Ireland on July 25 at the 2026 Nissin Foods World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Tokyo, Japan. The U.S., which won the most recent women’s field championship in 2022 in Towson, Md., will play three pool play games before the playoffs begin on July 29. The gold medal match is set for Sunday, August 2.

The U.S. is one of four teams in Pool A, joined by Chinese Taipei, the Haudenosaunee Nationals and Ireland. The U.S. senior team has limited history against all three opponents in international championships. 

The U.S. has never played Chinese Taipei, and has played the Haudenosaunee and Ireland just once each in world championships. The U.S. beat Ireland 22-5 in the quarterfinals in 2009 in the Czech Republic and beat the Haudenosaunee Nationals 20-1 in the quarterfinals in 2013 in Canada. More recently, the U.S. women beat the Haudenosaunee Nationals 18-8 in the semifinals of the Pan-American Lacrosse Championship last summer.

USA Pool Play Schedule

Date Opponent Time
Saturday, July 25 Ireland 9 am (local) / 8 pm (Friday – Eastern)
Sunday, July 26 Haudenosaunee 9 am (local) / 8 pm (Saturday – Eastern)
Tuesday, July 28 Chinese Taipei 6:30 pm (local) / 5:30 am (Eastern)
Wednesday, July 29 Quarterfinals
Friday, July 31 Semifinals
Sunday, August 2 Medal round

The 16-team event also features Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czechia, England, Germany, Israel, Japan, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Scotland and Wales.

The 16 teams were drawn into four groups for pool play, which will take place over five days. Eight teams will advance to the playoffs ahead of the semifinals and medal round.  

All teams earned their places in the championship through continental qualifiers, and the draw accounted for the current rankings of the field and Continental Federation balance. 

The championship will take place at two venues in Tokyo, with Oi Stadium hosting eight days of competition at up to six games per day, and Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium hosting the semifinals and medal round. 

The full schedule can be found here on the World Lacrosse website.

The U.S. is led by head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein, the head coach at Boston College. Walker-Weinstein was a gold medalist as a player for the U.S. in 2009, helping to start the current run of four consecutive world championships for the U.S.

Marie McCool will be aiming for her third world championship in senior field lacrosse after earning medals in 2017 and 2022. She is joined by five other gold medalists from the 2022 team – Sam Apuzzo, Ally Kennedy, Ally Mastroianni, Charlotte North and Caylee Waters.