Memories Made in USA's First-Ever Game Against Peru

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – There were 26 goals scored during the United States 25-1 victory over Peru during the Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Friday, and perhaps none meant more than the lone goal for Peru’s Morgan Ortega late in the fourth quarter.

After the final horn sounded, the two teams met at midfield, exchanged gifts and then launched into a series of pictures, conversations and smiles.

It was the first ever meeting between Peru’s national team and the U.S., and both teams embraced the moment. Ortega, who scored the goal after picking up a rebound following a Caylee Waters save, was smiling, but also holding back tears as emotions hit her after a special occasion.

“I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude – just being here and playing for my country and representing and then getting the chance to play against all of my idols that I’ve grown up watching forever,” Ortega said.

• Game Story: USA 25, Peru 1

A redshirt freshman at Mount St. Mary’s, Ortega grew up in Texas, but her father was born in Peru before he moved to the United States as a three-year-old. Paying tribute to her family’s heritage meant something to her and to score a goal in such a historic game was overwhelming.

“Just a wave of excitement and so much gratitude,” Ortega said. “I still don’t think it’s real. I’m just so grateful for everyone on my team. It wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

She wasn’t the only one grateful.

Izzy Scane, a two-time Tewaaraton winner at Northwestern, one of the captains for this summer’s Women’s Lacrosse League All-Star Game and a gold medalist with the U.S. U19 team in 2019, was one of the players that Peru’s players flocked to for pictures and meet-ups.

“I think it’s awesome,” Scane said. “It’s really exciting to see how excited about the sport they are. So many of them are really, really young players and they come up to us and talk about how much they look up to us and how the U.S. is kind of the standard for where they want to go. I think it’s really humbling to be that representation for those players.”

With that platform comes responsibility.

“There’s no time to have a bad day or have a bad moment when other people are sort of looking to you to set the standard for what lacrosse is around the world,” Scane said. “It’s definitely an honor to have that responsibility, but it’s something in the back of your head you want to make sure that you’re always representing not only the U.S. well, but lacrosse in general and playing in a way that’s very high-level and respectful.” As much as Peru’s players anticipated and appreciated the opportunity to play against the U.S. national team, the U.S. players themselves are grateful. They love the opportunity to see the other cultures and the way different people play the game.

And they flat out just love to play.

For even the best women’s lacrosse players after college, the opportunity to continue playing the sport they have is not a given. There’s no Athletes Unlimited this summer and just the WLL All-Star Game at the professional level. That’s part of the reason opportunities with the national team are so coveted, and why so many of the USA’s best players jump at any chance to play – whether it’s field, box or sixes.

“I think a lot of girls are kind of in that time of their life right now and I think we’re all very lucky that we get to be here and have this opportunity to play,” Scane said. “The opportunities are kind of few and far between. We work so hard to stay in shape and stay playing at a high-level of lacrosse so that when we get the opportunity to be at an event like this, and play with each other and play against other opponents it’s a very rare occurrence. We all try to soak it in and live in the moment and make sure we’re taking every opportunity and actually experiencing it and not just rushing through the week.

“I know from personal experience and conversations with the other girls that are in similar positions to me, it’s like the prize at the end of the day for the hard work that we put in to have these opportunities and we definitely savor them when we get the chance.”

The U.S. will get another chance tomorrow when it wraps up pool play against Mexico. They’ve already clinched a spot in the top four at the event, and with that a bid to next summer’s World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Tokyo. One more opportunity to experience the world playing the sport they love.