NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's lacrosse team will be well-represented at the upcoming World Lacrosse Women's World Championship, as rising junior goalkeeper Niamh Pfaff (Garden City, N.Y.) will play for Ireland while attacker Bri Carrasquillo '24 and incoming first-year midfielder Lucia Nash (Denville, N.J.) will play for Puerto Rico and attacker Megan Kitagawa '26 will play for Japan.
 
The World Championship takes place in Tokyo, Japan, from July 24 to Aug. 2. The event features the top women's lacrosse athletes in the world with a new 16-team format. All teams earned their spots in the field through continental qualifiers and were drawn into four pools ahead of the race for the eight-team playoffs for the championship. 
 
Each team will play three games during pool play and at least two more in either the playoffs or the placement round.
 
The first eight days of competition take place at Oi Stadium. The semifinals (Friday, July 31) and medal round (Sunday, Aug. 2) take place at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.

• No. 13 Ireland (Pfaff) is in Pool A with No. 8 Haudenosaunee, Chinese Taipei and No. 1 United States.
• No. 5 Japan (Kitagawa) is in Pool D with No. 7 Czechia, No. 6 Israel and the Philippines.
• No. 11 Puerto Rico (Carrasquillo, Nash) is in Pool C with No. 26 Argentina, No. 3 England and No. 10 Scotland.

 
The top two teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals (July 29), with winners advancing to the semifinals (July 31). The bronze medal (4:00 p.m. JST, 3:00 a.m. EDT) and gold medal (7:00 p.m. JST, 6:00 a.m. EDT) games are on Aug. 2. Other teams compete in the placement games July 30 and Aug. 1.
 
This is the 11th edition of the event. It was last held in 2022, when the U.S. beat Canada 11-8 for the championship in Towson, Md. 

Here is a look at the Bulldogs in the World Championship:

Bri Carrasquillo
Carrasquillo, who spent last season as an assistant coach at Vermont, also played for Puerto Rico at the 2022 Women's Lacrosse World Championship and the 2023 PALA Sixes Cup. Playing for Yale from 2020 through 2024, she totaled 51 goals and 11 assists in 39 games. She led the team in draw controls in 2020 with 31 in six games.

In addition to her time with the Puerto Rican National Team, Carrasquillo also has experience with USA Lacrosse. In 2018 she earned a tryout with the U.S. U19 National Team. In 2021 she took part in USA Lacrosse's training camp for lacrosse sixes competition. 
 
Carrasquillo is a graduate of Milton High School and played for the Long Island Yellow Jackets. 
 
 
Megan Kitagawa
Kitagawa helped Japan win the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women's Lacrosse Championship, held in Sunshine Coast, Australia. She had a goal in Japan's 9-5 win over Australia in the championship game. 

Kitagawa's international playing experience also includes being part of a historic performance at the 2024 World Lacrosse Women's U20 Championship in Hong Kong. She helped Japan to a bronze medal, the country's first medal in eight appearances at the championship. 

Kitagawa appeared in 47 games for Yale, totaling 44 points on 21 goals and 23 assists. She is a graduate of Syosset High School and played for the Swarm.
 
Lucia Nash
Nash played for Puerto Rico at the Pan-American Lacrosse Association (PALA) Championships in Florida and the PALA Sixes in Puerto Rico in 2025. She also played for the Puerto Rico U20 team at the World Championships in Hong Kong in 2024, earning player of the game against China.

At Morris Knolls High School, Nash was a USA Lacrosse All-American and a USA Lacrosse All-Academic honoree. She was first team all-division, first team all-county and first team all-group NJ. She led her team in goals (76), points (105), ground balls (67), draw controls (114) and caused turnovers (28) and finished among the top two in school history in career points (331), goals (214), assists (117), ground balls (213), draw controls (323) and caused turnovers (105).

Nash was a member of the USA U-16 National Team in 2024 and the USA U-19 National Team in 2025. She also played for BBL. 
 
Niamh Pfaff
Pfaff is coming off a season in which she earned honorable mention All-America honors from USA Lacrosse and second team All-Region honors from the IWLCA. She also was a second team All-Ivy League pick. Her honors this past season also include earning a spot on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List and being named second team ILWomen Midseason All-America. 

Pfaff started all 18 games for Yale in 2026, finishing eighth in the nation and first in the Ivy League in goals-against average (8.17). She was 20th nationally in save percentage (.472).

Pfaff is a graduate of Garden City High School. She played for Long Island Liberty Lacrosse. 
 
Ireland Schedule
July 25 9:00 a.m. JST (8:00 p.m. July 24 EDT) vs. United States
July 26 9:00 a.m. JST (8:00 p.m. July 25 EDT) vs. Chinese Taipei
July 28 6:30 p.m. JST (5:30 a.m. EDT) vs. Haudenosaunee
July 29-Aug. 2 TBD

Japan Schedule
July 24 6:30 p.m. JST (5:30 a.m. EDT) vs. Czechia
July 26 3:30 p.m. JST (2:30 a.m. EDT) vs. Philippines
July 27 6:30 p.m. JST (5:30 a.m. EDT) vs. Israel
July 29-Aug. 2 TBD

Puerto Rico Schedule
July 25 3:30 p.m. JST (2:30 a.m. EDT) vs. England
July 27 3:30 p.m. JST (2:30 a.m. EDT) vs. Argentina
July 28 9:00 a.m. JST (8:00 p.m. July 27 EDT) vs. Scotland
July 29-Aug. 2 TBD