U.S. Women Punch Ticket to Lima 2027 with Series Win Over Canada in Quebec

École de la Magdelaine — La Prairie, Quebec — The U.S. Women’s National Team is headed back to the Pan American Games.

The United States secured qualification for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, defeating Canada 25-14, 22-22 to comfortably secure victory in the two-match qualification series in Quebec.

The Americans put themselves firmly in control with a commanding 25–14 victory on September 26, taking an 11-goal advantage into the second match of the series.

With qualification effectively in their grasp, the United States closed out the weekend with a 22–22 draw in match two, comfortably preserving its aggregate win and sealing its return to the Pan American Games.

The result also reversed the outcome of the countries’ previous Pan American Games qualification series. In November 2022, Canada swept the United States in back-to-back matches and advanced 49–34 on aggregate.

This time, the United States left Quebec with the ticket.

Isabela da Cruz led all U.S. scorers across the weekend with 10 goals, while Maggie Doherty-Dahlloff, Ashley Butler and Emma Lode each contributed eight goals across the two matches, as the Americans saw production throughout the lineup and got minutes from all 16 on the roster.

In goal, longtime national team goalkeeper Sophie Fasold made her strong return to international competition after rehabbing a knee injury suffered last club season. A U.S. National Team regular since 2011, Fasold started both matches and capably backstopped the American effort throughout the weekend, keying a defensive effort and transition attack responsible for much of the 11-goal advantage that carried the weekend.

The opening victory established the tone for the series. The United States held Canada to just 14 goals while creating an advantage large enough that the dynamics of the second match changed considerably.

"A performance like this starts and ends with the athletes earning the result. We are proud of their commitment to building a world-class team together, and of the leadership of Dr. Sarah Gascon, Pether Krautmayer, Elizabeth Hartnett, Thomas Baeckmann, and Pauline Marangoni—the core group of coaches and team leadership working across multiple levels of the U.S. Women’s National Program—as well as the extended staff they have assembled around them. Together, they have fundamentally shifted the opportunity and path ahead for our U.S. women in a very short period of time." Michael King, Chief Executive Officer of USA Team Handball, said. "It is a privilege to be a part of the community that gets to push behind this team; the only thing better than sharing in the celebration of an enormous step they have so quickly put behind them will be supporting them as they clear the next one in front of them."

The qualification represents another significant benchmark in the Women’s National Team’s continuing path toward the LA28 Games. Lima 2027 will provide the United States with another major international championship opportunity one year before the Olympic Games return to American soil.

Before attention turns fully toward Peru, however, the next challenge is much closer.

The United States will return to Montreal in December 2026 for its next major international competition, with qualification for the 2027 IHF Women’s World Championship on the line through North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation's stage of the IHF Nations Trophy.

That event represents the next stop in a rapidly developing international calendar for the American women: first securing a return to the Pan American Games, then pursuing a place on the world championship stage, all as the program continues building toward Los Angeles 2028.

For now, the first objective is complete.

USA 47, Canada 36. Lima awaits.