Syracuse women’s lacrosse: Orange at the World Lacrosse Championship

Lacrosse has been having itself quite a summer.

The PLL is as popular as ever in its fourth season. Later this month, the Athletes Unlimited women’s pro league will kick off their second campaign.

And for the past week, Team USA has been dominating play at the 2022 World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship (why is the word ‘world’ used twice in the name?).

It’s the biggest women’s world championship in history, with 29 teams from around the world making the journey to Towson, MD. Pool play concluded on Monday and the Round of 16 took place yesterday. With the quarterfinals set for today, I thought it’d be a good time to check in on all the current and former Syracuse Orange participating in the tournament.

Team USA

Let’s start with Team USA, where we find three ‘Cuse alums, all of whom start for the red, white and blue. Kayla Treanor starts at attack, while Becca Block starts on defense and Liz Hogan starts in net. Orange assistant coach Kenzie Kent is also on the roster.

Kayla, whose still one of the very best players in the world, is the USA’s leading scorer through five games with 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists.

Becca and Liz have both played key roles in helping the Americans stifle their opponents, holding them to just over five goals per game.

Overall, Team USA has outscored their opponents 88-26. They’re the heavy favorites to win gold and it would be a monumental upset if they don’t.

Team Canada

Probably the biggest challenger to the Americans at this tournament is the Canadians. The played them pretty well in a 16-11 defeat in the opening game for both teams.

Like the US, Canada has three current/former Orange on their roster. 2018 graduate Alie Jimerson is joined by current players Maddy Baxter and Bianca Chevarie. The coaching staff is also heavily Orange as Gary Gait and Caitlin Defliese are both assistants.

Alie is one of Canada’s best players, and their second-leading scorer through five games with 15 points on nine goals and six assists. Maddy’s having a strong tournament, as well, with nine points (4G, 5A), six ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Bianca hasn’t been playing as much, but she’s played solid defense when she’s been out there.

Mostly I think this is an excellent experience for both Maddy and Bianca to take with them back to Syracuse in the fall. They’re getting to play alongside and against some of the best players in the world, and hopefully it leads to more good play once they get back to the college game next year.

Team Haudenosaunee

Two former Orange play for the Haudenosaunee: Jalyn Jimerson (‘22) and Allyson Trice (‘21).

The Haudenosaunee pulled an upset in the Round of 16, beating Scotland to advance to today’s quarterfinal against Australia.

Jalyn has been one of their best players, sitting at second on the team with 19 points (6G, 13A) through five games. It’s great to see her playing so well as a primary piece of the offense, especially since she played a backup role in her time at SU.

Allyson has been strong on the defensive end to help the Haudenosaunee to a 4-1 record and a spot in the quarterfinals.

Team Germany

Current player Jenny Markey took the field for Germany in this tournament, helping them to an undefeated record in pool play before they unfortunately fell to the Czech Republic in the Round of 16.

The Germans may be out of the tournament, but I was really encouraged by Jenny’s play. Once again, she was one of the best players on their team, finishing tied for first on the team with 14 points (10G, 4A) in four games. She also led the team in draw controls with 18.

I loved the aggressiveness that she played with, and I thought she did a great job of creating offense for her team. Just like with Maddy and Bianca, I think this experience will be great for Jenny coming back to ‘Cuse in the fall.

With Germany getting knocked out, that leaves us with three teams left in the Championship with SU players on their roster.

The Haudenosaunee kick of today’s quarterfinal play against Australia at 2 PM. Team Canada will take the field at 5 PM to play Czech Republic, and the Americans will close the day’s festivities at 8 PM against Japan. All games will be on ESPN+.

Good luck to our ladies the rest of the way in the pursuit of this World Championship medals!