Former Birminghamian Olivia Mannon gets another silver with Israeli national lacrosse team

Olivia Mannon is coming home from Portugal with more hardware — a silver medal in the 2024 Women’s European Lacrosse Championship as part of Team Israel.

She also was named Player of the Game in the quarterfinals, a 19-5 win over Italy on July 17.

Mannon, who grew up in Birmingham, played in all seven matches of the tournament, but as a defensive player did not score.

She is the legislative director for Rep. Nancy Nathanson in the Oregon House of Representatives. This past year, she was an assistant coach with the women’s lacrosse team at Williamette University.

England took home its fourth consecutive European title, and eighth out of 12 overall, defeating Israel, 12-5, on July 20. The game was a rematch of the 2019 final in Netanya, which England won, 10-7. Mannon was part of that history-making 2019 team.

For Israel, it was the second silver medal in the tournament. In all three appearances, Israel has placed in the top four. Israel had four of the top five points earners in the tournament, with Hannah Hilcoff, Jordan Lipkin, Zoe Martin and Jackie Stoller each having over 27 points in the seven matches.

By placing in the top seven, Israel qualified for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Japan in 2026. There were 19 teams in the tournament.

For the Israeli team, this was an opportunity to build momentum from the second place finish in the 2019 European Championship, and a successful run in 2022. Due to timing, that summer Israel had to split its squad between the World Championships in Towson, Md., and the World Games in Birmingham.

Israel had its best-ever result in the World Championship, placing sixth in the world, and then bested it by placing fifth in the World Games.

For Mannon, the World Games was a homecoming, as she showed her Israeli teammates where she grew up. She moved to Birmingham in fifth grade, having already competed in lacrosse in Maryland. She attended Altamont School and played soccer there, but had to go to Mountain Brook for a lacrosse team. She signed with Fresno State in 2015.

She said that the World Games provided her favorite Israel lacrosse memory, in the battle with Japan for fifth place. On a scorching day where everyone was tired, “It was pretty much back and forth all game until the last 2 minutes. I somehow snuck one into the net, placing us up one goal, only to run back down the field.

“Once I made contact with the ball carrier my shaft snapped in half and they scored — tied up again. I ran off the field and grabbed a random stick, eventually making the winning assist to put us up again. We won that rally in last few seconds and a win never felt so good. It was a culmination of hard work and knowing that I had the support of Team Israel, the Jewish community of Birmingham, my parents and friends supporting me all along the way.”

Entering the tournament in Portugal, Israel was ranked second in Europe.

The team spent time in Israel for training camp before heading to Braga, Portugal, for the tournament. They began pool play against Switzerland on July 11, with Mannon as the face of promotional graphics online. Israel won, 22-6.

On July 12, Israel took down Poland, 19-2, then swamped Latvia, 20-2. On July 15, they concluded pool play undefeated, beating Germany, 13-5.

Israel’s dominance continued with the win over Italy, setting up a July 18 semifinals match with Wales, which Israel also dominated, 14-4.

“Team Israel has been a means for me to celebrate of my Jewish heritage,” Mannon said before the tournament. “Team Israel has bridged my love for the game of lacrosse to my religious and cultural roots.”