T&T U-17 Women defy USA for 62 minutes, before falling 3-0 in Concacaf clash

The Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Under-17 team left the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva to a rapturous applause last night, as they defied the United States for just over an hour before succumbing to a 3-0 defeat in their opening Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship Group C fixture.

The result left the young Women Soca Warriors bottom of the four-nation group, after Honduras and El Salvador played to a 1-1 draw in their earlier match.

Only the group winner is sure to advance to the Morocco 2025 Fifa Women’s U-17 World Cup, while there is one spot for the best runners-up from all three groups.

“It was always going to be a difficult game—I thought the girls fought well,” said Trinidad and Tobago head coach Ayana Russell. “Unfortunately, we were not able to hold them for the 90.”

United States coach Katie Schoepfer also credited the whole-hearted defensive effort from the host nation, which kept her team off the score summary for two thirds of the match.

“We anticipated that they could potentially play in a low block,” said Schoepfer. “It is always really admirable the way countries play with such passion and will block a shot on the goal line or get in front of a ball—put their face on the line, put their bodies on the line.

“[…] When they are just working to defend, it could be really hard to break down.”

The score summary aside, though, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States was every bit as one-sided as one might have expected.

At the interval, the Women Warriors managed three consecutive passes just once and touched the ball twice in the opposition half.

And at the final whistle, Trinidad and Tobago mustered one recorded shot, which almost went out for a USA throw. In contrast, the North American visitors had 43 shots with 14 on target, and 30 of those shots came from inside the opposing penalty area.

USA had 82 percent possession with 652 passes to 141 from Trinidad and Tobago, while pass accuracy was 87.6 percent for the visitors and 35.5 percent for the hosts.

“I think we liked what we were seeing and the chances we were getting,” said Schoepfer, as she explained why USA made only like-for-like changes—confident that the breakthrough was only a matter of time.

“It was just a little bit of quality [was missing] and we were a little bit unlucky here and there.”

From kick off, USA started confidently with a whirr of driven passes and player rotations. And, inside the first five minutes, Trinidad and Tobago were already forced to defend with as many as nine outfield players in their own penalty box from open play.

Goalkeeper Zaira Aimey made a good save to keep out a header from USA defender Pearl Cecil off a Charlee Siria corner kick in the fifth minute. And, in the 12th and 16th minutes, there were successive goal-line clearances from Trinidad and Tobago defenders Mikaela Yearwood and Hackeemar Goodridge.

But, remarkably, the visitors had still not beaten Aimey at the half hour mark. And in the 32nd minute, Trinidad and Tobago forced USA goalkeeper Evan O’Steen to use her hands for the first time—albeit to gather a long, overhit freekick from Yearwood in the general direction of winger Rasheda Archer.

“We knew that discipline was key,” said Russell. “We can’t open up too much and play against them. The discipline was good… The exit strategy? We did not execute as well as we would like to.

“[…] The insight was there; the execution wasn’t there.”

The Trinidad and Tobago coach said the intention was to get the ball to athletic flankers, Ty’kaiya Dennis and Archer, although she declined to give details—so as not to alert Honduras and El Salvador.

It was difficult to see how the Women Warriors planned to get on the ball, and their final pass accuracy told its own story. But none could fault their effort.

In the stands, patrons roared encouragingly at every clearance or successful tackle. And, at the halftime whistle, Trinidad and Tobago players hugged each other with glee as they headed to the dressing room on equal terms.

Talisman forward Orielle Martin even won free kicks with clever dribbles on either side of the halftime whistle. And, in the 56th minute, Martin won a corner kick off USA defender Lauren Hemann and punched the air in delight at the small victory.

In the other technical area, Schoepfer said she never harboured doubts, though. At halftime, her words to her charges were: “take a breath” and “just continue to follow the game plan”.

“They [were] doing all the right things,” said the USA coach. “Give credit to Trinidad and Tobago [for] how they were putting their bodies on the line and clearing balls off the line and getting themselves in front of shots and making slide tackles.

“It is hard to keep going when that happens, and it’s hard to break that spirit. But I think we did a great job of taking a deep breath, relaxing, trusting the game plan and continuing to go.”

If USA’s breakthrough goal seemed inevitable, so too was the source. Left winger Micayla Johnson was a thorn in Trinidad and Tobago’s right side for the entire match, and, frankly, captain Kanika Rodriguez could not keep a lid on her.

In the 63rd minute, Johnson drove in a low cross and, with the opposing defence unable to clear, the ball ricocheted to substitute Ashlyn Anderson, who stabbed home a straightforward opportunity.

Johnson made it 2-0 with a hooked shot on the turn in the 78th minute off a corner kick routine before another substitute, Chloe Sadler, completed the job with an accurate low drive into the corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Another goal line clearance by Goodridge in stoppage time, off another Anderson attempt, ensured that USA were restricted to just three goals.

The Trinidad and Tobago girls looked disappointed but not broken. There was another ovation at full time and Russell described their showing as “a very good performance” with some individual errors.

“Unlike America, we don’t play a lot and we don’t get these quality games,” said Russell. “[…] The nerves were there, and I think by the second game, we will be alright… Next game, you will see a little bit more.”

Trinidad and Tobago face El Salvador from 7 pm on Wednesday in the second game of another Couva double header.

The Women Soca Warriors have never qualified for a Fifa tournament. However, an improbable win in midweek would make that a possibility.

“Football is played on the day,” said Russell.

It was her way of saying: anything is possible.

(Teams)

Trinidad and Tobago (4-2-3-1): 1.Zaira Aimey (GK); 15.Kanika Rodriguez (captain), 2.Kaitlyn Darwent, 17.Mikaela Yearwood, 3.Hackeemar Goodridge; 6.Cherina Steele, 12.Rori Gittens (9.Mia Lee Chong 75); 8.Ty’kaiya Dennis, 4.Diem Sealy (16.Madison Campbell 80), 7.Rasheda Archer; 10.Orielle Martin (19.Giuliana Meyer 66).

Unused substitutes: 18.Kenisha Taylor (GK), 21.Alexia Dolland (GK), 5.Taya Williams, 11.Sanni Wilson, 13.Zyesha Potts, 14.Cherine Steele, 20.Jessica Nesbitt.

Coach: Ayana Russell

USA (4-1-4-1): 1.Evan O’Steen (GK); 2.Cali O’Neill (13.Rhiannon Mahon 77), 4.Pearl Cecil, 5.Natalie Chudowski (15.Lauren Hemann 46), 3.Sydney Schmidt; 6.Charlee Siria; 19.Maggie Currie (18.Audrey McKeen 23), 16.Scottie Antonucci (captain) (10.Chloe Sadler 61), 17.Jaiden Rodriguez, 11.Micayla Johnson; 9.Nyanya Touray (14.Ashlyn Anderson 46).

Unused substitutes: 12.Josie Biehl (GK), 21.Peyton Trayer (GK), 7.Kimmi Ascanio, 8.Riley Kennedy, 20.Gracie Milam.

Coach: Katie Schoepfer

Referee: Neressa Goldson (Jamaica)

Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship qualification

Group C

(Monday 31 March)

El Salvador 1 (Rojas Buerger 13), Honduras 1 (Espinoza Sanchez 61) at Ato Boldon Stadium;

USA 3 (Ashlyn Anderson 63, Micayla Johnson 78, Chloe Sadler 90), Trinidad and Tobago 0 at Ato Boldon Stadium;

Upcoming fixtures

(Wednesday 2 April)

Honduras vs USA, 4pm, Ato Boldon Stadium;

Trinidad and Tobago vs El Salvador, 7pm, Ato Boldon Stadium;

(Saturday 5 April)

USA vs El Salvador, 4pm, Ato Boldon Stadium;

Honduras vs Trinidad and Tobago, 7pm, Ato Boldon Stadium.