BRADENTON, Fla. – The U.S. Under-17 women’s national team defeated Canada 1-0 in the final group game for both teams at the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship at IMG Academy Friday.
Second-half substitute Reilyn Turner headed home the game-winner off a corner kick from Katie Wiesner in the 65th minute. Turner, a late replacement on the roster due to an injury to forward Peyton Linnehan, scored her second goal in as many caps for the team after also tallying in her debut against Haiti June 6.
“I’m really proud of the team performance and result today,” U.S. head coach Mark Carr said. “It’s never an easy game against Canada and I thought we took initiative, played on the front foot and created a lot of quality chances. But we have to do better with our finishing.”
The U.S. outshot Canada 27-8, but met a quality goalkeeper in Anna Karpenko, who made 10 saves.
The win gave the USA a 3-0-0 record and first place in Group B. Earlier in the day, Mexico tied Haiti 1-1, a result which gave Mexico the top spot in Group A by virtue of a superior goal difference.
With the teams “crossing over” for the semifinal round Sunday, the Americans meet Haiti and Mexico will face Canada to determine which two nations qualify directly to the 2018 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Uruguay. The semifinal losers will meet in the third-place game Tuesday to decide the confederation’s third representative at the World Cup, while the winners will play for the regional title.
“Overall, our first two goals were to qualify for the semifinals and top the group. We accomplished both today,” Carr said. “Our focus now shifts to Haiti. We will rest up, recover and start to prepare for Haiti and our next goal, which is to qualify for the World Cup.
“We have some familiarity in Haiti but we know they will be fighting for a World Cup spot. It’s a new game, a one-off game, and we will be ready to do everything to qualify.”
On Sunday, the U.S. and Haiti square off at 5 p.m. ET while Canada and Mexico meet earlier in the day at 10 a.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on go90.com and UDN.
Coming into the match, the U.S. and Canada were already through to the semifinal round, but the result would determine the semifinal match-ups.
The Americans’ pressure, particularly when the Maple Leafs tried to possess the ball in its own half, was relentless. It led to turnovers and the creation of goal-scoring opportunities. The opening half hour belonged to the USA. Only several fine saves from Karpenko, some last-ditch efforts defending by Canada’s defense and some less than sharp finishing by the U.S. kept the Americans off the board.
A Sunshine Fontes laser off the crossbar in the 25th minute seemed to wake up the Canadians, but that was as close as they would come all game to piercing the net. The American defense, led by center back Natalia Staude, the only U.S. player to start all three group games, limited opportunities to half chances and hopeful counters.
Scoring Summary:
USA – Reilyn Turner (Kate Wiesner) 65th minute
Lineups:
USA: 1-Angelina Anderson; 4-Talia DellaPeruta (23-Reilyn Turner, 60), 15-Natalia Staude, 5-Kennedy Wesley, 2-Makenna Morris, 20-Sophia Jones, 17-Hannah Bebar, 9-Croix Bethune (11-Maya Doms, 69), 7-Samantha Meza, 18-Sunshine Fontes (8-Diana Ordoñez, 69), 3-Kate Wiesner (capt.)
Substitutes not used: 12-Julia Dohle, 6-Astrid Wheeler, 10-Mia Fishel, 13-Samantha Kroeger,14-Smith Hunter, 19-Michela Agresti
Head Coach: Mark Carr
CAN: 1-Anna Karpenko, 5-Maya Antoine, 6-Ariel Young, 7-Serita Thurton, 9-Jordyn Huitema (capt.) (12-Oluwateniola Akindoju, 46), 10-Aaliyah Scott, 11-Kaila Novak, 13-Olivia Cooke (3-Jayde Riviere, 63), 15-Wayny-Natasha Balata, 17-Stella Downing (14-Maya Ladhani, 57), 20-Julianne Vallerand
Substitutes not used: 18-Sophie Guilmette, 2-Lou-ahou-elizabeth Tse, 4-Sonia Walk, 8-Caitlin Shaw, 16-Andersen Williams, 19-Jade Rose
Head Coach: Beverly Priestman
Stats Summary: USA / CAN
Shots: 27 / 8
Shots on Goal: 11 / 3
Saves: 3 / 10
Corner Kicks: 11 / 1
Fouls: 6 / 4
Offside: 3 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Referee: Mirian León (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Emperatriz Ayala (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Elizabeth Aguilar (SLV)
4th Official: Quetzalli Alvarado (MEX)
U.S. Soccer Woman of the Match: Kennedy Wesley
|
2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship |
||||||||
|
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
Pts. |
GF |
GA |
GD |
| USA |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
15 |
1 |
14 |
| Canada |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
| Costa Rica |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
| Bermuda |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
19 |
-17 |
