Team USA made its mark in the IIHF record book as it stayed perfect on the way to the semi-final of 2026 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship with a 9-0 win over Hungary on Thursday.
Following up hat-trick performances in each of her first three games with two more goals on Thursday, 16-year-old U.S. forward Jane Daley tied Haley Skarupa’s single-tournament record of 11 goals from 2012. Daley has two more games to go this week.
"I don't think of myself as a pure scorer," Daley said. "My teammates have done a really good job of getting pucks on my stick. I had some good chances today but overall we're getting pucks to the net. Some go in and some don't. Overall, I don't think that's important here. Playing better as a team is important, and we have to be sure to be at the top of our game next time."
Also, U.S. forward Alaina Gnetz set a new mark for the fastest two goals in WW18 history when she scored the Americans’ fourth and fifth goals just 11 seconds apart in the first period. That’s one second faster than the old mark of 12 seconds, which was set in 2016 by Russia's Fanuza Kadirova.
Earlier, Gnetz thought she had opened the scoring when she set off the night's first spin of the U.S. goal song, 'Free Bird,' about four minutes into the first period. That tally was called back after the play was ruled to be offside.
"I think we just work on getting pucks deep and keep with the tempo," said Gnetz about the six-goal first period. "We did that, which is good."
Emily Pohl also chipped in two goals for the United States on Thursday, while Jillian McLaughlin, Lindsay Stepnowski and Talla Hansen added singles.
After making 15 saves in the 9-1 U.S. win over Czechia last Sunday, Bianca Birrittieri made eight stops on Thursday to earn the shutout against the Hungarians, who were promoted from Div. 1A in 2026 for the first time since 2014.
"The game pace is much higher, and we have to focus on every shift," said Hungarian coach Zoltan Fodor. "I think we've done our best in all of these details, but it's all about focus."
Hungary’s goaltender Csenge Csordas gamely tried to keep the powerful Americans at bay. After the U.S. team fired 42 shots on goal through the first two periods, and nine of them counted for goals, Csordas thwarted multiple Grade A chances among 14 shots, for a clean sheet in the third and 56 shots in total.
"We played better as the game went on and I think we started to play well in our end, which is really good," said Hungarian coach Zoltan Fodor. "We were encouraging them to be more physical, and to do better in the one-on-one situations and protect our goalie. I think we did a great job of that."
Adding an assist to her two goals, Pohl's three points helped her earn best player honours in the game, while forward Helga Tamas was honoured for Hungary. The three best players for Hungary as chosen by the team were Zoe Takacs, Luca Farago and Petra Polonyi.
Thursday’s matchup was just the second in WW18 history between the United States and Hungary. Team USA earned a 7-0 in Budapest back in 2014.
With two games left to play in the 2026 event, the U.S. team has a chance to be the first in history to run the table to a ‘Perfect Gold’ at the U18 women's worlds, never trailing and never being tied beyond 0-0 at any point in the tournament.
Through four games, Team USA has now outscored its opposition by a margin of 45-1.
With Sweden and Czechia winning earlier in the day, Canada and Finland will meet in Thursday’s final quarter-final game. Before Saturday’s semi-finals, Hungary will play in the relegation game to determine who stays up and which team is relegated back to Div. 1A.
"We have to do a pre-set and our homework as soon as possible," said Fodor. "Tomorrow we will do a good job of recovery, and we'll be ready for the next day."
