Colorado University Athletics
Colorado Lacrosse to Represent Four Countries in 2024 Lacrosse World Games
July 24, 2024 | Lacrosse
BOULDER – Eleventh-year Colorado lacrosse head coach Ann Elliott Whidden, sophomore midfielder Emily Dodd, and incoming freshmen Amelia Byerly (Naples, Fla./Phillips Exeter Academy) and Elena Oh (Chapel Hill, N.C./ East Chapel Hill HS) are traveling to Hong Kong, China in August to coach and compete in the World Lacrosse 2024 Women's U20 Championship, Whidden announced Wednesday, July 24.
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The four Buffs will represent four countries in the World Games: Whidden will be an assistant coach for Team USA, Dodd will play for Team Canada, Byerly will compete for Team Israel and Oh for Team Korea.
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"Being able to be a part of the U20 World Championships in Hong Kong is such a special experience," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "I was fortunate to be able to be a part of the 2019 Championships and so grateful to get another opportunity to represent the United States on the world stage. Being able to compete against and get to know all the different countries is such a special cultural experience."
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The China Hong Kong Lacrosse Association will host its first tournament since 2019 from Aug. 15 to Aug. 24. The 20-team championship begins with six days of pool play and four pools of five teams. Playoffs and placement matches will take place Aug. 21 to Aug. 24, and the championship final will be played at Mong Kok Stadium on Aug. 24 at 6:30 p.m. HKT/4:30 a.m. MDT.
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Whidden and Byerly are coaching and competing in Pool A, and Dodd and Oh are playing in Pool B. Teams in the same pool will all meet during pool play – Dodd (Team Canada) and Oh (Team Korea) will compete against each other at Shek Kip Mei Park on Aug. 20 at 5 p.m. HKT/3 a.m. MDT, and Whidden and Byerly will go head-to-head in the same venue on Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. HKT/6 a.m. MDT.
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"I am very excited for our three Colorado players to get to share in this opportunity," Whidden said. "They have worked very hard to get to represent their respective countries, and it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to play in this environment. Outside of the excitement of getting to share this experience with them and watch them compete, I am really excited for them to just have this chance to grow as players and bring all they learn from it to Colorado. It is going to be a fun, competitive couple of weeks."
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Whidden is in her 11th season as the head coach at Colorado and has compiled a 122-67 (.646) record. She has been recognized twice as the IWLCA West/Midwest Region Coach of the Year (2017, 2018), and was the 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and 2017 MPSF Coach of the Year. She was previously selected as an assistant coach for Team USA in the World Lacrosse 2019 Women's U20 Championship and helped the team to win gold and defeat Canada, 13-3, in the championship final.
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Dodd, a rising sophomore midfielder for the Buffs, played and started in all 19 games in the 2024 season. She totaled 15 goals and12 assists (27 points), had 21 draw controls, picked up 11 ground balls and caused three turnovers. In the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament, she matched a career-high two goals against UC Davis (May 1) and set a career-high of three assists against Stanford (May 4). Dodd was also a member of Team Alberta Lacrosse where she competed in the 2023 Canada Winter Games for Ringette and won bronze. She is a four-time Provincial Champion, two-time Western Canadian Champion, two-time Western Canadian All-Star and a First Line National All-Star.
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Byerly is an incoming freshman from Naples, Fla. and attended Phillips Exeter Academy. She won her high school's Triple Crown Award in 2021 for playing three varsity sports (volleyball, basketball and lacrosse), and she is a two-time All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention (2022, 2024). As a two-time captain of her high school lacrosse team, she was named to the Collier County All-County First Team (2021) and the Southwest Florida All-Region First Team (2021). Byerly also competed for Team Israel in the 2023 Women's Lacrosse U21 European Championship.
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Oh, another incoming freshman, is from Chapel Hill, N.C. and went to East Chapel Hill High School. Though she has only played lacrosse for three years, Oh was named to the DAC-VII All-Conference Team three times (2022, 2023, 2024), earned DAC-VII Conference Specialist of the Year in 2022 and DAC-VII Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. This World Games will be her first national competition and her first stint with the Korea U20 Team.
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In 2024, the Buffs (13-6, 5-2 Pac-12) came in second in the Pac-12 conference after falling to Stanford, 11-8, in the Pac-12 Championship match. Colorado ended the season ranked 20th in the USA Lacrosse poll and 22nd in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll. Senior attacked Madeline Pisani and sophomore defender Jess Peluso were both earned USA Lacrosse Magazine All-America Honorable Mentions at the end of the 2024 season, and four Buffs were chosen for the All-Pac-12 Team. The Buffs are coached by 11th-year head coach Ann Elliott Whidden 122-67 (.646), who was named IWLCA West/Midwest Region Coach of the Year (2017 and '18), was the 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year and 2017 MPSF Coach of the Year.
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For more information on the Colorado women's lacrosse team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsWLax.
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