Historic 10-9 Win Over England Launches Haudenosaunee Women Into Semifinals at 2026 World Lacrosse Championship
TOKYO - The Haudenosaunee Nationals made history as they defeated England 10-9 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship at Oi Stadium. The win puts the Nationals in the semifinals for the first time ever and guarantees the women’s program their best finish ever at a World Championship since they started competing in 2009. Their previous best finish was seventh place in 2013.
The Haudenosaunee offense was once again led by Avery Doran with three goals and two assists, including the game-winning goal with 5.5 seconds remaining. Jalyn Jimerson added a hat trick of her own, while Lois Garlow contributed two goals and Sierra Cockerille was steady all over the field with one goal and two assists. Paisley Cook finished with six draw controls and one goal to round out the scoring. Goalie Paige Crandall continued to reign supreme in the net as she finished with 12 saves on the game. Crandall leads the entire tournament with 34 total saves.
Haudenosaunee struck first as Paige Crandall made an early save and the Nationals went the other way for a Lois Garlow snipe from the top off a shovel pass from Avery Doran just over one minute into the game. England would answer 90-seconds later on a free position goal by Megan Whittle to tie the game at 1-1. A second England goal by Sofia Wise dodging to the middle made it 2-1 with 11:01 remaining in the first. Paisley Cook won the ensuing draw and the Nationals worked the ball around before Cook dodged middle and finished in traffic with the off-hand bouncer to tie the game with 9:45 to play. Another free position goal by England’s Whittle gave England the 3-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. The teams battled scoreless for the next six minutes before Avery Doran scored back-to-back goals for Haudenosaunee. The first came on a right side dodge that allowed Doran to get into the lane and score to tie the game at 3-3. Paisley Cook then earned a free position opportunity with 6-seconds left. England saved Cook’s shot but Doran grabbed the rebound and quickly buried her second goal of the game to give Haudenosaunee the lead headed to the second quarter.
Haudenosaunee’s Lois Garlow got things going in the second on a step down from the left side off a Doran assist to make it 5-3 with 11:57 remaining. England responded with a free position goal by Claire Faram followed a minute later by a Jordan Carr driving through traffic to tie the game at 5-5 with 7:22 to play in the first half. Jalyn Jimerson got on the board as Doran dodged left and found Jimerson on the doorstep for the fake and finish to regain the lead 6-5 with 3:57 left in the second.
England went on a 3-0 run for the duration of the third quarter to regain the lead. The first eight minutes were back-and-forth until Sofia Wise scored on a free position to tie the game at 6-6 with 6:36 remaining in the third. A minute later Teagan Scott wrapped around the arc and fired from the top to score off the crossbar and give England the 7-6 lead. A few Paige Crandall saves kept England off the board until Jordan Carr scored with a quick stick inside off a Sofia Wise pass to extend the England lead to 8-6 with 32-seconds to play in the fourth.
The Haudensonee women showed their toughness once again in the fourth as they went on a 3-0 run to regain the lead. Sierra Cockerille scored her lone goal of the game as she worked to the middle and spun back to her left for the drive and finish 40-seconds into the final frame. A 2-minute yellow card on England for a check to the head put the Haudenosaunee a woman up. On the ensuing possession, Cockerille circled from behind the net and tossed it back to Jalyn Jimerson at the near post who buried her second goal to tie the game at 8-8 with just over 11-minutes to play. Jalyn Jimerson then earned a free position shot that she bounced high over the goalie to give the Haudenosaunee the lead back at 9-8 halfway through the fourth. England answered to tie the game 9-9 on a free position goal from Emma Savage with 3:39 remaining in the game. Haudenosaunee won possession and called timeout with 2:24 to go to set up their final possession. Haudenosaunee worked the ball around until they found Cockerille with 20-seconds to go. Cockerille took her time and dodged to the middle where she found Avery Doran cutting back door and Doran buried the game winner low past two defenders to give the Haudenosaunee the 10-9 lead with 5.5-seconds remaining in the game. England called for a stick check that determined Doran’s stick was legal. England then won the final draw but the buzzer sounded as Paige Crandall made one final save and the Haudenosaunee sideline erupted in a sprint onto the field and the celebration ensued in front the crease of their goalie Paige Crandall.
The matchup was the first ever meeting between England and Haudenosaunee at the Women’s World Championships and the game did not disappoint. The Haudenosaunee will now face Canada in the semifinals on Friday, July 31 at 4:00 p.m. local time (3 a.m. EST).
