TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Asia-Pacific Women's Lacrosse Championship kicked off on Monday in Queensland, Australia, with Taiwan defeating South Korea in the first preliminary round by a score of 13-4.
It was the first time that Taiwan competed in international women's lacrosse at the adult level, as Taiwan has yet to earn an international ranking. While Taiwan may be a newcomer to international lacrosse, seven members of the team are Taiwanese Americans competing at the US collegiate level, per CNA.
In the past, Taiwan played against South Korea at the U20 level, and in the most recent competition, beat them by six points at last year's U20 World Championship.
In the first half of yesterday’s match, Annika Wray and Ellie Shen combined for five points staking the Taiwan team to a strong lead. Defenders Lai Tian-ai (賴天愛) and Fu Xin-ying (傅心瀅), along with goalkeeper Li An-ru (李安儒), played excellent defense, repelling many of South Korea's attacks, maintaining an 8-2 halftime lead.
South Korea mounted a comeback in the third quarter by scoring another two points. However, by the fourth quarter, Liao Yi-jun (廖翊君) and Katherine Lin continuously broke through the opponent’s defense to widen Taiwan's lead.
Taiwan will face New Zealand, currently ranked 12th in the world, at noon on Tuesday. The match is expected to be a tough battle for Taiwan as they take on a more battle-tested opponent.
Taiwan will then face Japan, ranked 5th in the world, on Wednesday, the final match of Pool A.
As long as Taiwan can remain in the top two teams in Pool A, it will earn an invitation to the 2026 Women’s Lacrosse Championship.