JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Before Chloe Luther ever steps foot on campus for her freshman year with women's lacrosse, she first must make a pit stop about 14,000 miles away. Luther is competing for the Haudenosaunee U20 National Lacrosse Team in the World Lacrosse U20 Championship this month in Hong Kong, China. The Haudenosaunee team, formerly the Iroquois Nationals, will be competing as part of a 20-team field broken up into five-team pools. 

Making the team was not a shoe-in for the midfielder from New York. When the tryout process began Luther was recovering from an ACL injury. Despite some trepidation about her return to play from her doctors, Luther managed to get on the field for the winter portion of tryouts and did enough to make the final cut.

"It was kind of a surprise," Luther said. "I guess I impressed the coaches enough to make the team."

Her recovery process was expedited as seemingly not much can keep the young lacrosse star down for long. Instead of the around 12 month recovery timetable, Luther was back in action after about seven months, which she credited to a consistent grind in rehab.

"It went pretty well. I stayed really dedicated to my physical therapy and it kept me on track," Luther said. 

Initially, Luther saw herself on the bubble for making the roster. Alongside a handful of other girls in similar situations to hers due to injuries Luther knew maybe only one of them was going to get a roster spot. 

"I was in a very scary situation," Luther said. "It was very important to me (to make the team) and it showed that all of my hard work to get back on the field paid off."

Once play begins halfway across the globe, Luther will be uniting with another Dolphin. Competing for the Canadian National Team is current JU defender Maggie Cuddy. While the two have not played on a team together yet, or even met, the future teammates will face off against one another in the second game of pool play on Saturday, Aug. 17.

"I can't wait to meet her over there and play against her," Luther said. "It will be a very fun opportunity and a good experience against (top-level) competition."

Aside from playing the best under-20 players the world has to offer, the weather in China will admittedly be a big hurdle for Luther. Temperatures in the city of over seven million will be in the low 90s every day with UV indexes hitting extreme levels daily. The hope is the weather will help prepare Luther for the rigors of the Florida sun, and the competition will give her a crash course for what is to come once her 2025 season begins. 

"I think this will be good to help me adjust to the high level of competition in Division 1," Luther said. "This will just all help to prepare me."

For JU head women's coach Tara Singleton, she too wants one of her future stars to glean as much as she can while playing on a global platform.

"We are so excited for Chloe and Cuddy," Singleton said. "To compete on the world stage is something to be really proud of. Chloe has a fearlessness about her and can really make an impact for her team. We are looking forward to the experiences she will bring to JU after the U20 championships."

The Haudenosaunee are ranked 10th in the world with the US and Canada occupying spots one and two. Playing in Hong Kong will be a first for the Nationals and potentially a once in a lifetime experience for Luther. The expectations are high for both the Dolphins abroad. With that, there is one game Luther wants to win more than any other.

"We definitely want to medal and we want to place," Luther said. "And we definitely want to beat Canada."