Acacia Walker-Weinstein was all of 14 years old when she tried out for the U.S. U19 team in the summer of 1998. One year later she went to Australia as the youngest member of a U.S. team that would bring home a gold medal over the host Aussies.
Just seven nations competed in that 1999 U19 world championship, but Walker-Weinstein will get a firsthand look at the growth of international lacrosse later this week when she leads the U.S. women’s senior field team as the head coach at the 2025 Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse Championship in Auburndale, Fla.
World Lacrosse now has 94 member nations and of the eight teams that will compete for the championship – only Canada and the U.S. had teams when Walker-Weinstein began her international career.
“I always dreamt of the Olympics but it's just cool to break that down even further that we're in a position to be in the Olympics because of these other countries that have had this growth,” she said. “It's wild.”
The U.S. open play at the event against Puerto Rico on June 26 and will then follow up with pool play games against Peru and Mexico. None of those countries had national teams when Walker-Weinstein made her international debut as the youngest player on the 1999 U.S. U19 team, which won a gold medal in Australia, nor when she helped the 2009 U.S. team win the world championship in the Czech Republic.
The top four teams at the Pan-American championship will qualify for the Division I bracket at the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Tokyo and the next three finishers will earn a spot to the Division II bracket.
The U.S. and Canada have been the dominant teams in women’s field lacrosse over the last decade, with Canada finishing as the runner-up to the U.S. at the senior level in the two most recent world championships in 2017 and 2022.
The U.S. roster is loaded, led by six members of the 2022 U.S. team that captured the World Lacrosse Women’s Championship gold medal – Sam Apuzzo, Ally Kennedy, Ally Mastroianni, Marie McCool (also a 2017 world champion), Charlotte North and Caylee Waters.
Apuzzo still plays at the pro level, but also spends a lot of time in her role as an assistant coach at Boston College, where she works for her U.S. team head coach, Walker-Weinstein. She loves coaching, but is even more at home with a stick in her hands.
“The most joy I have is when I get to play, especially with such competitive, talented players,” Apuzzo said during the recent U.S. training camp. “You don’t get that much when you graduate college, so any opportunity I get to play is the best time in my life.”
Five other players on the roster have also won U19/20 world championships with the U.S. program – Shea Baker (2024), Kori Edmondson (2024), Emma LoPinto (2024), Emma Muchnick (2024) and Izzy Scane (2019).
One that hasn’t yet is Chloe Humphrey, who was named to the training team for the 2024 U.S. U20 team, but suffered an injury that ended her hopes to play in Hong Kong last summer.
“It was obviously devastating finding out I wouldn’t be able to participate,” Humphrey said. “You just have to look at the bigger picture and I always tell myself that everything happens for a reason. Maybe my body wasn’t ready. I kind of just accepted it, it was what it was.”
Now she gets her chance to win a gold medal, which would come on the heels of a remarkable redshirt freshman season for Humphrey at the collegiate level. She set a NCAA freshman record with 90 goals, leading North Carolina to an undefeated season and NCAA championship and won the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top collegiate player.
The recent training camp, with multiple sessions each day in hot weather, was a great test for the schedule ahead. The U.S. women will play five games in five days in the Florida heat.
Who
Argentina, Canada, Haudenosaunee, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States women’s national teams
What
Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse Championship
When
June 26-30, 2025
Where
Lake Myrtle Sports Complex – Auburndale, Fla.
Tickets
Tickets are just $10 daily or a full-event pass for $30. Tickets can be purchased here.
Watch
Games will be streamed on World Lacrosse TV with event packages available for $20.
Coverage
Complete coverage of the U.S. team will be available throughout the tournament on USA Lacrosse Magazine.
