England capped off their World Lacrosse Super Sixes campaign with an impressive 12-11 win over the Haudenosaunee Confederacy on Sunday.
A hat-trick from the experienced Megan Whittle kept England in the game before Julie Wise scored the eventual winner with just under a minute to go in the game to ensure the England team left the tournament with smiles on their faces.
After tasting defeat in their first three games of the competition, England started with determination in this final match-up and found themselves two goals to the good with Alice Ripper and Emily Gray getting themselves on the score-sheet.
No game against the Haudenosaunee Confederacy is easy and so it proved early on in the second quarter when the opposition pulled 3-2 ahead, taking advantage of being a player up to score twice and flip the game on its head.
But England weren’t about to give up just yet with Wise and Liv Thomas each firing one home to bring the scores back level at 4-4 with a couple of minutes left in the half.
It was an enthralling back and forth encounter but, as the game wore on, the Haudenosaunee showed their quality and despite goals from Whittle and Anna Saunter, they went in at the third quarter break enjoying a four-goal cushion with the score at 10-6.
Right at the start of the fourth and final quarter, the Haudenosaunee grabbed another goal giving England a huge mountain to climb if they were to get something from the game.
England refused to lie down despite trailing by five and went on an unbelievable six goal run without reply; goals from Gray, Anna Neville, Whittle, and Ripper put England within one goal before Head Coach, Phil Collier, called a timeout with one minute and 17 seconds left in the game.
And whatever Coach Collier said worked almost immediately as Whittle completed her hat-trick to level the score at 11-11 before Wise stole the ball in the middle of the field and scored with aplomb to put England ahead for the first time since the first quarter.
Right at the death, goalie Emilie Chandler made an outstanding save to keep the Haudenosaunee out and ensure England left Canada with a win!
After the tournament, World Lacrosse announced that Super Sixes will return next October in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Final Scores
Friday
Game 1 | Canada 10-6 England
Game 2 | Haudenosaunee 4-23 Canada
Saturday
Game 3 | England 9-12 Haudenosaunee
Game 4 | Canada 15-8 England
Game 5 | Canada 8-9 Haudenosaunee
Sunday
Game 6 | Haudenosaunee 11-12 England
Gold Medal Match | Canada 17-4 Haudenosaunee