Two Jacksonville University women's lacrosse players played in the World Lacrosse Women's U20 Championships this summer, competing on the international stage for their respective national teams.

Junior Maggie Cuddy appeared in every game for Team Canada, while freshman Chloe Luther played in every contest for the Haudenosaunee Nationals.

During their time in Hong Kong from Aug. 15-24, both girls realized lifelong goals while playing lacrosse and brought back plenty of experiences and memories to use this upcoming season. 

Cuddy earns silver with Team Canada

The journey to make Team Canada took years for Cuddy. It started during her freshman year when she first applied to be a part of the team.

By her sophomore season, she was amid the on-field tryout process against around 70 other girls. She played in tournaments versus Team USA and various colleges to hopefully show off enough make the final roster.

"It was a whole yearslong process. It was nuts," Cuddy said. "I didn't really know what would happen. There were so many kids, and I was just hoping I had worked hard enough. It makes you think about how big your country is and how many of those people play lacrosse."

By the conclusion of her sophomore year in Jacksonville, and heading into her junior year summer, Cuddy finally learned she had made the roster and was headed to Hong Kong to represent Canada.

"I was so surprised, but it was such a relief," Cuddy said. "It was reassuring that all my hard work paid off. It was a good feeling, but then I had to start preparing to win a world championship."

Even after her return stateside, Cuddy still marvels at the fact she will forever be a part of the Team Canada lacrosse legacy.

"It is such a privilege to be accepted onto a team like this and to want to work that hard," Cuddy said. 

The Ontario-native found plenty of familiar faces on her squad from years of club play and the chemistry showed through immediately. The Canucks beat Wales 19-0 to open play and defeated Luther and the Haudenosaunee 22-4 the following day.

Wins over Chinese Taipei and Korea saw Canada into the knockout stages. As a defender, Cuddy helped lead her squad to a group stage goal differential of 85-6. She also helped see her team easily by Italy, 25-2, in the knockout rounds. In the semifinals, Cuddy was named match MVP of her team's 17-2 victory over Japan. She notched an assist, two ground balls and one caused turnover.

"I was happy with how I played," Cuddy said. "The defenders I played with I have known my whole life. I am glad I played well but I give credit to them too. We wouldn't all be able to play well if we didn't have each other. We knew we had each other's backs."

In the championship, Canada fell in its third-straight appearance in the gold medal match to Team USA. Cuddy ended her tournament run with a team-high 11 loose balls picked up and team-best six caused turnovers.

In the eyes of Cuddy, it wasn't because of the Canadian attacking onslaught or lockdown defense that got them to the final. It was rather the Canadian camaraderie and cohesion.

"As a team, we did so well because it was such a good group of people," Cuddy said. "Our coaches did a really good job of bringing us together. We were all working together and wanting to do well. We weren't playing individually but playing as a team."

Before hoping to break the country's streak of silver medals Cuddy took a moment to take in the magnitude of her accomplishments. Her almost two years of tryouts and life's worth of competition saw her to the fields of Mong Kok Stadium, halfway across the globe from her college in Florida. 

It was a huge moment. Until it wasn't.

"This is what I had always dreamed of," Cuddy said. "Then I started playing and realized it's just another game of lacrosse. I had been doing this my whole life. It was just like playing backyard lax, but then it's also what I have worked for my entire life."

With the realization she was simply just playing a game she had playing since she could remember, it all became second nature.

"I was very appreciative of where I was in the world and what we were playing for," Cuddy said. "I played every game over there like it was my last." 

Taking her experiences back to JU, Cuddy hopes the Dolphins can bond like her sisters from the Great White North. If the 'Phins gel in the fashion the Canadians did in Hong Kong, JU could easily be looking at a second straight ASUN regular season title and a deep trip into the postseason according to their star defender.

"Playing for Team Canada, getting different perspective on what and who you are playing for, I was so grateful," Cuddy said. "And I'm so grateful to be at JU. With our Canada team, we put a lot of heart into every game. I think our Jacksonville team can do that and play hard and love the game. I want us to win and do well but also grow."

Luther finishes second in goals for Haudenosaunee 

To start her freshman year, Luther was not immediately in class, but instead in Hong Kong repping the purple and gold of the Haudenosaunee. 

The Haudenosaunee Nationals, formerly the Iroquois Nationals, got the most of the former high school attacker as Luther finished second on the team in goals (11) and assists (5). Having such an impact with a national team was a bit of a shock for Luther but a gratifying experience she hopes to translate to Rock Stadium.

"I am not really sure how it all happened, but I guess I impressed the coaches enough to get a lot of playing time," Luther said. "It definitely raised my confidence because we are playing the best in the world."

The Haudenosaunee went 2-2 in group play, earning lopsided wins over Korea and Chinese Taipei. Luther hit the hat trick mark against Taipei and a had a pair of goals against the Koreans. In the knockout stages, the Haudenosaunee lost to China before defeating Mexico to finish in 11th place at the tournament.

"It went really well," Luther said. "We had a lot of good experiences and cultural exchanges with the other teams. I have gear from Australia, Italy. I met so many good people."

The experience off the field was as gratifying as the one on the field for Luther. Before her team's match with Canada, the Haudenosaunee dined in the Canadian embassy. There, she met teammate Cuddy for the first time.

During an early practice Luther and her team sat together on the field and shared induvial stories about how each girl got to the national team. By the end of the exercise the whole team was crying tears of joy for one another.

"I think we could have done a bit better, sure, but we really grew as a team and grew a lot closer," Luther said. "Hopefully we can all play for the women's team in the future. I hope I made a good impression."

Luther has yet to sling a ball at the nylon of a college team but has already played against the best players the world has to offer. Her Division 1 career has yet to start while her international career is already well decorated. 

"This gives me the confidence to play well at the Division 1 level," Luther said. "The competition was really hard over there, and this prepared me for JU."