Zimbabwe this year participated for the first time in the Lacrosse Heritage Cup at Haverford College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and finished in fourth place among 20 teams. China clinched the cup after beating Latvia in the finals. Zimbabwe was beaten by Argentina to settle for fourth position.
The Zimbabwe Heritage team was formed by two sisters from Zimbabwe, Tariro and Tapiwa Kandemiiri. Tariro says she is humbled by the team’s performance as they were viewed as underdogs by their competitors.
“I am overjoyed by this success, when my sister and I thought of creating a team, we were worried whether we would find people who want to play? How will we get to the tournament? Where will we get the uniforms? But many people helped us to get here and we are grateful,” Tariro said.
The team's coach, Mark Mozier, says he was surprised by the way the girls played, saying they had not had much time to prepare for the games together.
“We didn't get a chance to prepare. We met on Thursday on Zoom, and we talked about what we wanted to do. The girls knew what they were doing, and they played well together," said Coach Mark.
Tapiwa promised that next year she will see her team lift the Heritage Cup and even compete in the world cup.
“Finishing on fourth position in the first year gives us hope that we can take the cup next year.”
A Zimbabwean parent who was watching the games, Mrs. Irene Bepete, encouraged Zimbabweans in America to support this team next year.
“Our girls represented Zimbabwe very well, we encourage them to continue shining so that other young Zimbabweans can learn from them.”
Mrs. Buhle Dube, a parent from Dallas, Texas, whose child also plays lacrosse, says she is very happy that Zimbabwe is now represented in the Lacrosse Heritage Cup.
The Heritage Cup competition is held every year with over 20 countries, including China, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, France and Germany participating. Zimbabwe was the only African team at the tournament.
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