The 2025 World Lacrosse Men's U20 Championship begins this weekend in Korea and the United States is aiming for a 10th consecutive world championship. The U.S. has won the gold medal in each of the previous nine versions of this event, which was played at the U19 level on a mostly quadrennial basis from 1988 through 2016 and then as a U21 event in 2022 following a two-year COVID delay.
Those championships haven't come easy. In 2012 in Finland, the U.S. lost pool play games to both Canada and the Iroquois (now Haudenosaunee) before rallying to beat both in the medal round. In 2016, the U.S. trailed host Canada 8-2 at the half before rallying for a wild 13-12 victory. In 2022, the U.S. led by just a goal with over two minutes to play before edging Canada 12-10 in Ireland.
Canada has won the silver medal at the last six championships and has medaled in all nine championships with seven silver medals and two bronze. The Haudenosaunee Nationals have won four straight bronze medals and the only other countries to medal are Australia (two silver, two bronze) and England (one bronze).
Who’s playing?
A total of 19 teams will be competing at this year's edition of the championship after Ghana was forced to withdraw due to Visa-related travel issues. The U.S. is in Pool A along with Australia, Canada and the Haudenosaunee Nationals.
Other countries competing include China, Chinese Taipei, England, Germany, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.
What’s the schedule?
Pool play begins on Friday, August 15 and runs through Tuesday, August 19. The playoffs begin on Wednesday, August 20 and the tournament wraps up on Sunday, August 24.
The four teams from Pool A will receive byes to the quarterfinal round while the top eight teams from the remaining pools will all advance to the playoffs, competing for a spot in the quarterfinals.
USA Schedule
- Game 1: vs. Canada (Aug 16 – 11 am, local time / Aug 15 – 10 pm, Eastern time)
- Game 2: vs. Haudenosaunee (Aug 17 – 11 am, local time / Aug 16 – 10 pm, Eastern time)
- Game 3: vs Australia (Aug 19 – 4 pm, local time / 3 am, Eastern time)
- Quarterfinals: TBA (Aug 21)
- Semifinals: TBA (Aug 22)
- Medal Games: TBA (Aug 24)
Who’s the USA coach?
The United States is led by Shawn Nadelen, the head coach at Towson University and a former gold medal player with the U.S. national team. Nadelen helped the U.S. win the world championship in 2010 in Manchester, England, coming back from an ACL injury to anchor the USA defense. Nadelen has led Towson to seven CAA championships and NCAA tournament berths. He was the USILA National Coach of the Year in 2017 when he guided the Tigers to the NCAA Division I semifinal round for just the second time in school history.
Nadelen's coaching staff includes Connor Buczek (Cornell), Anthony Gilardi (Stony Brook) and Ryan McClay (Fairfield Prep). Buczek, who led Cornell to the NCAA championship this year, and McClay both won gold medals as part of the U.S. team as players. Buczek won with the U19 team in 2012 and McClay won with the senior team in 2002 and then again in 2010 when he played alongside Nadelen on the defensive unit.
Who are the USA players?
Eighteen of the 22 players have already begun their collegiate careers, but the roster also includes four of the top high school seniors from this past spring. Four players have earned USILA All-America honors in each of the last two years, including Notre Dame defenseman Shawn Lyght, who was named the National Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2025. Lyght and North Carolina faceoff specialist Brady Wambach were both first team selections, while North Carolina attackman Owen Duffy (3rd team) and Georgetown goalie Anderson Moore (honorable mention) were also recognized this year.
The high school quartet includes Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.) attackman Anthony Raio, the USA Lacrosse Magazine National Player of the Year, and McDonogh (Md.) attackman Brennan O'Neill, the USA Lacrosse Magazine Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year.
Where to Watch?
All games will be streamed live on World Lacrosse TV. Full-event packages are $35.
