Former All-American Hannah Gough ’25 will don Australian green and gold when the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship begins Friday, July 24, in Tokyo.
Australia’s last two World Cup teams finished just off the medal stand, losing heartbreakers to England in the 2017 and 2022 third-place games.
“Our goal is to be on the podium, and we want to be in the final game,” says Gough, an Adelaide, Australia, native who in 2025 earned degrees in economics and international relations after concluding a stellar lacrosse career.
“The community and the country want us back on that podium.”
Gough started playing lacrosse at 7 and says her years as a Sagehen were the most fun she’d had on the field. Pomona’s support system was second-to-none, she adds, and everyone on the team tried to make each other better.
“There was that great balance of goofiness and intensity.”
After four years in Claremont and a few months working for a startup in San Francisco, Gough moved back home in February to chase her national team dreams.
She devoted hours to training at the South Australia Sport Institute, where sports science and strength and conditioning teams monitored Gough and her countrywomen “at a higher level than what I was doing on my own,” she says.
In the spring, Gough played club lacrosse in the Women’s State League, a longstanding competition pitting state and national teammates against each other.
“You can’t match live gameplay and the reactivity of being around other high-quality Australian players,” she says. “I definitely improved as a player. It’s a very fierce competition, but there’s a lot of positivity and community with it.”
Following a national camp in early April, Lacrosse Australia selected Gough and 21 other women for its World Cup roster. The Pomona alumna and Aussie defensewoman is one of 10 players making their national team debut at the premier 16-team tournament.
“At this level,” Gough says, “there’s a different weight of pride and happiness when you achieve the things you wanted to achieve.”