Ireland closed out the Nissin Foods 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship with an 11th place finish, recovering from a one-goal defeat to Argentina in the classification round to beat Wales 12-8 in Saturday's placement game.
Saturday: Ireland 12, Wales 8
The 11th place game gave Ireland a chance to finish the tournament on their own terms, and they took it.
Ireland were 4-1 up inside fourteen minutes. Connaughton opened at 14:30 from a Dowd assist, Ryan added a second at 10:22 from another Dowd feed, Welch made it 3-1 at 3:50 with Dowd's third assist of the quarter, and Ryan struck again with under two minutes left. Wales answered through Sophy Coombes-Roberts and Ros Lloyd Rout, but trailed 4-2 at the break.
Bridget Valentine extended the lead early in the second. Welch then scored twice inside 24 seconds, at 5:02 and 4:38, to put Ireland 7-3 clear at half time.
Wales made a real push in the third. Coombes-Roberts, Ellie Jones and Coco Harpin scored to close it to 7-6 with five minutes left in the quarter, and Ireland took a time out. Connaughton restored the two-goal cushion at 4:40, and Welch scored again with seven seconds on the clock from a McHugh assist to make it 9-6 at the buzzer, a goal that took the wind out of the Welsh comeback.
The fourth was Ireland's. McHugh finished from Ryan at 12:09, Connaughton converted a free position at 9:40, and after Wales pulled two back, Welch scored her fifth of the afternoon with four seconds remaining.
Ireland won 18 of 24 draws, Riley Peterson taking 15 of them. They shot 12 from 23. Niamh Pfaff made five saves before Catrina Tobin came on with three minutes left, and Ireland caused eight turnovers, their highest of the tournament.
Welch's five goals were the individual highlight. Connaughton's three, Ryan's two and Dowd's three assists were the supporting cast.
Final position
Ireland finish 11th of 16 nations at the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship, with a tournament record of two wins and three defeats.
The United States took gold, beating Canada in Sunday's final at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium. Israel claimed bronze against the Haudenosaunee.
For Ireland, the last two performances were the ones to build on. A one-goal game against a side that finished ninth, and a controlled four-goal win to close, are a better measure of where this group is than the opening morning against the eventual champions.