Ireland 7 England 11 European Women's Box Lacrosse Championship bronze medal final, Prague, 4 July 2026
The rematch did not go Ireland's way. Days after beating England in overtime in the group stage, Ireland met them again with a medal on the line and came up short, losing the bronze final 11-7 to finish fourth in Europe.
Ireland started well. Hillary Grehan levelled on the power play and Catherine DeKorte put Ireland 2-1 up inside eleven minutes. From there England took over. They scored four goals in a row to lead 5-2, and though Haley Price and DeKorte kept Ireland in touch, England pulled away to 10-4 by the midpoint of the third quarter. The bronze medal was slipping away.
Ireland refused to let the game die quietly. Gillian Smith scored twice and Charlie Hoy added another to close the gap to 10-7, but England had the cushion they needed and finished it 11-7. Kiera Roberts and Ashley Price shared the Irish goal and made 31 saves between them against 71 England shots.
Fourth place in Europe was not the finish Ireland wanted, but it should not obscure the campaign behind it. Ireland recovered from an opening defeat to Germany, beat England in overtime on a night when both Irish box teams came through, closed the round robin with a statement win over Czechia, and pushed into the semi-finals against the eventual finalists. This was a side that competed with the best in Europe and came within one game of a medal.
Kiera Roberts finished the tournament as one of its busiest and most reliable goaltenders, a constant across all eight games. Head coach Melissa Rausch led the programme, supported by assistant coaches Amber Hill and Catherine Conway and goalie coach Katie Smith.
Ireland leave Prague fourth in Europe, and a opportunity to compete in 2028 awaits.