BOULDER — Colorado lacrosse assistant coach Racheli Levy-Smith and midfielder Amelia Byerly will represent Israel at the Nissin Foods 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, scheduled for July 24 through Aug. 2 in Tokyo, Japan.
The 16-team championship will feature 44 games. Israel will compete in Pool D alongside host Japan, Czechia and the Philippines. Israel opens pool play against the Philippines on July 24 before facing Czechia on July 26 and Japan on July 27. Pool play will be held at Oi Stadium, with the semifinals and medal games taking place at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
Byerly recently completed her sophomore season at Colorado, starting all 20 games in the midfield and helping the Buffaloes advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. She finished the season with 16 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
The Naples, Fla., native has extensive experience representing Israel internationally. Byerly competed with Israel’s under-21 team at the 2023 European Championship and played in the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship in Hong Kong.
Levy-Smith, who recently joined the Colorado staff as an assistant coach, also played for Israel at the 2024 U20 World Championship. She recorded 15 goals, three assists, eight ground balls and 72 draw controls in six games while helping Israel finish 13th.
She arrives in Boulder following a decorated playing career at Holy Cross. Levy-Smith earned third-team All-America honors from both the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association and USA Lacrosse in 2026 and was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. She started all 17 games during her senior season and led the Crusaders with school single-season records of 191 draw controls and 41 caused turnovers while also collecting 41 ground balls.
Levy-Smith concluded her collegiate career as Holy Cross’ all-time leader with 475 draw controls, adding 111 ground balls and 88 caused turnovers in 61 appearances.