OSHAWA, Ontario – Madison Taylor set the NCAA Division I record for goals in a season with 109 in 2025. A year later, Chloe Humphrey tied the record. Humphrey and Taylor are now teammates on the same U.S. sixes national team that includes the NCAA’s all-time goal scoring leader – Izzy Scane.
What are they talking about? Defense.
Yes, defense.
The offense has shown up plenty – the U.S. poured in 35 goals in a 35-10 victory over Puerto Rico to clinch a spot in the Pan-American Sixes Lacrosse Championship on Sunday at 3 pm on World Lacrosse TV – but these prolific attackers love the chance to play defense.
“I used to be a midfielder coming into college and now getting to play defense after playing attack the past four years honestly has been so fun,” Taylor said. “We joke about it, but getting to play defense has been awesome. I just love the up and down part of it.”
“I’ve had to reteach myself how to play defense – the last time was probably in middle school,” Humphrey said. “It’s been an adjustment, but I have the best middies in the country leading the way and helping us on defense.”
Humphrey, known for her constant movement on offense whether she has the ball or not, used her familiarity with the ride to cause a key turnover just before the end of the first quarter to set up Emma LoPinto’s goal with just four seconds left in the first half. Puerto Rico led 4-3 midway through the quarter, but LoPinto’s goal was part of a four-goal run in the final two minutes of the quarter that flipped momentum.
“I think as an attacker I like to go for the check more than body positioning, which is a defender’s nightmare,” Humphrey said. “As an attacker, I think the ride definitely translates to the sixes game, which is why I think I found success with the backchecks and gritty plays because that’s so much of the ride from the college game translating to international.”
Taylor, a four-year high school basketball player, loves the basketball elements of sixes, but not just the on-field aspects. A gold medalist with the U.S. U20 team in 2024 in Hong Kong, Taylor missed both the Pan-American field lacrosse championship in Florida and The World Games in China in sixes last year due to injury.
“I feel very grateful to be out here,” Taylor said. “Last summer I wasn’t able to and I’ve always loved the idea of sixes because it reminds me of basketball. I played basketball all four years of high school. Not even just the way it’s played – the team environment off the field. There’s only 12 of us, so it’s like a small group and you really get to know everyone. I think that’s the most special part, being able to play here and getting to meet everyone. I kind of missed out on that last summer. This is just so fun and I’m so lucky to be out here with these people.”
Humphrey had her own lost summer, missing out on a spot on the U20 championships in Hong Kong with an injury back in 2024. After a dominant freshman college season in 2025, she’s been a staple of the U.S. program ever since, embraced by the team’s veterans.
“At first it was such a surreal moment stepping on the field with all the girls I watched on TV when I was in fifth grade,” Humphrey said. “I’m year two into it. I kind of have to act like I belong – these are my teammates now, they’re not my idols. It’s kind of just getting comfortable with them. It’s crazy that I’m playing alongside all the people I looked up to when I was up to here.”
Humphrey, LoPinto and Marie McCool are tied for the U.S. lead in scoring in the tournament – each with 22 points. LoPinto was Saturday’s game MVP after scoring a team-high six goals. Humphrey, McCool and Ellie Masera each scored five and Taylor had four.
The U.S. has breezed into the championship game with three dominant wins and already earned qualification for next year's World Lacrosse Sixes Championship in Colorado Springs.
