Colorado assistant coach Racheli Levy-Smith and midfielder Amelia Byerly are headed to Tokyo, where they will represent Israel at the Nissin Foods 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship from July 24 through Aug. 2.
The tournament will bring together 16 teams for 44 games, and Israel landed in Pool D with host Japan, Czechia and the Philippines. Pool play begins for Israel against the Philippines on July 24, followed by Czechia on July 26 and Japan on July 27. The early rounds will be played at Oi Stadium, while the semifinals and medal games are set for Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
Byerly just wrapped up her sophomore season at Colorado, where she started all 20 games in the midfield and helped the Buffaloes reach the NCAA quarterfinals. She finished with 16 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.
The Naples, Fla., native has already built a strong international résumé with Israel. She played for the country's under-21 team at the 2023 European Championship and then appeared in the 2024 World Lacrosse Women's U20 Championship in Hong Kong.
Levy-Smith also brings recent international experience with Israel, having played at the 2024 U20 World Championship. In six games, she put up 15 goals, three assists, eight ground balls and 72 draw controls, helping Israel finish 13th.
Now on Colorado's staff as an assistant coach, Levy-Smith arrives in Boulder after a standout run at Holy Cross. In 2026, she earned third-team All-America honors from both the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association and USA Lacrosse, and she was also named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. During her senior year, she started all 17 games and set school single-season records with 191 draw controls and 41 caused turnovers, while adding 41 ground balls.
Her Holy Cross career ended with her as the program's all-time leader in draw controls with 475. She also finished with 111 ground balls and 88 caused turnovers in 61 appearances.
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