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Editor’s note: Longwood women’s lacrosse player Isabella McCullough is still in Hong Kong this week, continuing to share about her experience competing with Team Mexico at the World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship. This part covers Days 4 -6, with multiple matches and a visit to Hong Kong’s Disneyland. 

Day 4: Game vs. Italy

I woke up that morning early, around 6 a.m. I went upstairs, got a short biking session in and about 30 minutes of mobility and stretching. Once I finished, I went down to breakfast with my team. After breakfast, I went back to my room, got dressed, and went downstairs to head to the fields.

We got to the field and went into the locker room, ready to warm up and beat Italy. As we prepared to leave the locker room, lightning struck in the area, and we entered an hour rain delay.

When we finally started warming up, we entered another rain delay. Once we finally started playing, we were up after our third rain delay, but unfortunately we lost by four in a tough 15-11 loss [Editor’s note…McCullough made 10 saves]. We all went to dinner frustrated but determined to win the next one.

Day 5: Game vs. Scotland

After coming off a tough loss against Italy, I woke up ready to beat Scotland. Due to the rain, this would be the first time that my team will go through the normal introductions. I wanted to make sure I set a strong example for the younger generation. I wanted to show them the pride and joy we should hold when playing for and representing our country.

As we went to our walkthrough, we were determined to work and hustle and prepare to beat Scotland. We prepared to pass down the “Big Dawg”—our player of the day chain. And I was handed the chain for the pride and joy I show for this team. As I practiced and planned and learned during our walkthrough, I felt prepared and ready to defeat Scotland.

When we got to the field, I stretched and got my knee scraped, and I went over the game plan with my coaches and fellow captains Elena and Angelina. I felt locked in, ready, and hungry for a win. When we took the field, I warmed up with Camila and locked into the goal. Captains were called for the coin toss, and starting lineups were announced. We lined up in numerical order, took the field, exchanged pins, and prepared to defeat Scotland. 

I entered the goal, got ready, and fought for the win with my team. As the game was ending, I sprinted to my teammates and celebrated our win [17-11]. The pride and joy I felt during that win was indescribable. We played as a team, fiercely and passionately, and it was something to be immensely proud of. As we lined up to thank the other team, I gave the Team Mexico speech, thanking Scotland for a fierce and competitive game.

Day 6: Hong Kong’s Disneyland

As I wake up, I get dressed and head down to breakfast. My teammates and I are giddy because we are so excited for our free day. It’s an opportunity to rest and spend time with our teammates outside of lacrosse. About six of my teammates and I decided we wanted to travel to Hong Kong’s Disneyland.

We leave breakfast to go get dressed and pack our bags for the journey. We go to 7/11 to get water and umbrellas, go to the bank to get spending money, and set out to the subway to ride over to Hong Kong’s Disneyland.

The subway ride was easy. When we got to Sunny Bay, we saw the custom train traveling towards Disneyland. It had statues of characters inside, and the windows and handholds were Mickey themed.

The entrance of the park was gorgeous. The Disney music was playing, and my teammates and I were giddy to explore. We go through security and scan our tickets, and we are now in one of the happiest places on earth.

We go and get coffee, snacks, and fun treats. As we look at some of the shops, my teammates and I get some Mickey ears and head towards Tomorrowland. We ride on Space Mountain, the Iron Man ride, and the Ant Man and the Wasp ride. We all get popcorn, and then go to Fantasy Land to ride It’s A Small World and to head towards the world of Frozen.

When we entered the world of Frozen—the newest area of the park—we are in shock and awe of the beauty there. We went on Wandering Oakens Bobsled and the new Frozen boat ride. Afterwards, we got lunch and planned the rest of our day. For lunch, I had pork buns and fruit, and my teammates chose dim sum.

We decided to head to the Toy Story area to go on RC Racers and the Slinky ride. I was too tall to ride the RC Racers, so I got a Fastpass to go on any other ride. While that was a bummer, I remembered there was a cultural difference.

We then went to my favorite ride: Mystic Manor. The haunted mansion at HK Disneyland, it was my personal favorite, and I decided to get a keychain from the gift shop. We then headed over to Grizzly Gulch to ride their version of Big Thunder Mountain. We had so much fun, we rode it twice. As our day began to wrap up, we went on the Frozen boat ride one more time before heading towards the shops to get items we were looking for.

I went to the Duffy and Friends themed merchandise. I got a few themed items for my friends, family and myself. After that, we were all ready to head back to the hotel and rest after our exciting day.

After the subway back, we all met downstairs and got dinner at the hotel. Then, I went upstairs and wound down for the day, ready to defeat New Zealand.

Day 7: Game vs. New Zealand

As I wake up, I feel confident, ready, and overjoyed knowing I get to compete against New Zealand. I go down to breakfast with my teammates, and we all shared what we did on our day off. We also said our goodbyes to one of our team managers who had to go home. We decided to play this match for her.

As we went upstairs, we got our uniforms and gear and prepared for the match. As we went downstairs again, we did mobility, stretching, and visualization as we prepared for this game. I am prepared, locked in, and ready to win.

We got to the locker room, where I got dressed, got my knees scraped, and got my hips stretched out. I went over the game plan with my fellow captains. Due to the weather, we couldn’t do team introductions or anthems, so we just got ready to play right away.

I met with the other captains and officials, led the cheer, and took the field, ready to play a competitive match.

Our team played fluidly, and, as a unit, our defense held them to nine goals total [in a 15-9 win]. We came together to celebrate and honor our player of the match afterwards, Kendall.

We went back to the hotel for lunch and a shower, and then we went up stairs to have a meeting, do mobility, and hold a stretching session. Afterwards, we went to dinner and came together to make friendship bracelets with other teams and with our coaches. Angelina and I decided to go get a sweet treat after dinner.

Finally, I went to my room, got ready for bed, and went to sleep, dreaming of defeating Australia.