Lopusanova holds her record-tying puck from the final game of her U18 career.
photo: Ande Ringuette/IIHF
The U18 Women’s Worlds now has two players who have recorded the most goals and points in tournament history. Incredibly, Slovakia’s Nela Lopusanova and American Kendall Coyne Schofield both have 22 goals and 33 points, but they accomplished these identical records in similar ways with very different teams.
Coyne Schofield, for instance, also has three medals to her credit (two gold, silver) while Lopusanova never played in a medal game.
Coyne Schofield played in three WW18s while Lopusanova played in four, which translates to 15 games played for the American versus 19 for the Slovak.
Let’s look at opponents. Coyne Schofield played Canada, Sweden, and Czechia three times, Russia twice, and single games against Switzerland, Germany, Finland, and Japan.
Lopusanova has faced Czechia and Sweden four times, United States and Switzerland three times, Finland and Japan twice, and Canada once.
Big games? They both had their fair share. Coyne Schofield had two four-goal games and two hat-trick games. Nela had one four-goal game and two three-goal games.
Lopusanova also scored arguably the greatest goal in WW18 history—when she was 14 years old, no less! On January 12, 2023, in a quarter-finals game against Sweden, she scored a lacrosse goal. Of the seven lacrosse goals in IIHF history, she is the only female to score in this crazy-exciting way.
Lopusanova recorded at least one point in all five games of her first WW18 in 2023 and twice had five-game point streaks. Coyne Schofield had at least one point in the final eight games of her U18 career, her longest points streak. Twice Nela had four points in a game while Kendall had three four-point games and one five-point game.
Coyne Schofield was held without a point only twice in her career while Nela was pointless four times in her 19 games. Nela’s longest goal-scoring streak was five games; Kendall’s was six. Interestingly, Nela had seven games in which she had at least one goal and one assist. Coyne Schofield had four such games to her credit.
How are their totals relative to their teams? Well, in Coyne Schofield’s three years with the U.S. (2008-2010), the Americans scored a whopping 139 goals. That means she accounted for 23.7 per cent of the team’s offence. In Lopusanova’s four years (2023-26), the Slovaks scored only 47 times, meaning she was in on an incredible 70.2 per cent of her team’s offence.
So there you have it. Identical scoring stats achieved in radically different, but sometimes similar, ways. No question, Coyne Schofield played on some of the best U18 teams ever. But no question Nela was so incredibly important to her team. Two great players, in their own way.
Coyne Schofield, for instance, also has three medals to her credit (two gold, silver) while Lopusanova never played in a medal game.
Coyne Schofield played in three WW18s while Lopusanova played in four, which translates to 15 games played for the American versus 19 for the Slovak.
Let’s look at opponents. Coyne Schofield played Canada, Sweden, and Czechia three times, Russia twice, and single games against Switzerland, Germany, Finland, and Japan.
Lopusanova has faced Czechia and Sweden four times, United States and Switzerland three times, Finland and Japan twice, and Canada once.
Big games? They both had their fair share. Coyne Schofield had two four-goal games and two hat-trick games. Nela had one four-goal game and two three-goal games.
Lopusanova also scored arguably the greatest goal in WW18 history—when she was 14 years old, no less! On January 12, 2023, in a quarter-finals game against Sweden, she scored a lacrosse goal. Of the seven lacrosse goals in IIHF history, she is the only female to score in this crazy-exciting way.
Lopusanova recorded at least one point in all five games of her first WW18 in 2023 and twice had five-game point streaks. Coyne Schofield had at least one point in the final eight games of her U18 career, her longest points streak. Twice Nela had four points in a game while Kendall had three four-point games and one five-point game.
Coyne Schofield was held without a point only twice in her career while Nela was pointless four times in her 19 games. Nela’s longest goal-scoring streak was five games; Kendall’s was six. Interestingly, Nela had seven games in which she had at least one goal and one assist. Coyne Schofield had four such games to her credit.
How are their totals relative to their teams? Well, in Coyne Schofield’s three years with the U.S. (2008-2010), the Americans scored a whopping 139 goals. That means she accounted for 23.7 per cent of the team’s offence. In Lopusanova’s four years (2023-26), the Slovaks scored only 47 times, meaning she was in on an incredible 70.2 per cent of her team’s offence.
So there you have it. Identical scoring stats achieved in radically different, but sometimes similar, ways. No question, Coyne Schofield played on some of the best U18 teams ever. But no question Nela was so incredibly important to her team. Two great players, in their own way.