USA U17 marches onto semifinal
The U.S. U17 Women’s National Team moved one step closer to a spot at the U17 World Cup on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Jamaica in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Concacaf U17 Championship in the Dominican Republic. …
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Continue ReadingThe U.S. U17 Women’s National Team moved one step closer to a spot at the U17 World Cup on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Jamaica in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Concacaf U17 Championship in the Dominican Republic.
Amalia Villarreal Amalia Villarreal null | F State #3 Nation MI (Michigan Jaguars) scored her eighth goal of the tournament on a header early in the first half. Charlotte Kohler Charlotte Kohler M St. Francis-Mountain View (CA) | 2024 State #17 Nation CA (MVLA) and Riley Jackson Riley Jackson M Blessed Trinity (GA) | 2024 State GA (Concorde Fire) also scored in the opening half. Melina Rebimbas Melina Rebimbas F Rutgers Prep (NJ) | 2023 State #3 Nation NJ (PDA) came off the bench and scored a goal on her birthday early in the second half.
Jamaica advanced to the quarterfinal game via a 4-0 win over Cuba in the Round of 16. Jamaica finished in second place in Group F and shocked one of the favorites of the event with a 1-1 draw against Canada during group play.
USA eliminated much hope of an upset on Wednesday with the early header goal from Villarreal. Jamaica struggled to generate much against the dominant US side. It felt like a python squeezing the dream of an upset out of its prey.
The Jamaica defense and goalkeeper Liya Brooks stood tall against the pressure from the talented USA attack – and kept the game much closer on the scoreboard than it was on the field. Brooks faced over 30 shots during the game. She was credited with 12 saves in the game.
Brooks was previously eligible for the US National Team. She is from Hawaii and holds dual citizenship. She has been scouted by US scouts and was part of the US Club id2 Team that was scheduled to go to England in 2020 before that trip was shut down due to Covid.
In the past year, she emerged as a star for Jamaica’s youth program and was part of the Jamaica U20 team as well. She is a high school junior and plays her club soccer for Hawaii Surf. Brooks is a recent verbal commit to Washington State.
Brooks’ heroics were not enough on the day, and USA advanced to the semifinal round, to be held on Friday, against the winner of Canada/Costa Rica. The two winners from the semifinal round and the winner of the third place game earn a berth to the World Cup, which will be held in October in India.
USA Starting XI: Abby Gundry Abby Gundry GK State #19 Nation NC , Savannah King, Alyssa Gonzalez, Nicki Fraser, Gisele Thompson Gisele Thompson D Harvard-Westlake (CA) | 2024 State #2 Nation CA ; Riley Jackson Riley Jackson M Blessed Trinity (GA) | 2024 State GA (C), Claire Hutton Claire Hutton M Bethlehem (NY) | 2024 #15 Nation NY , Charlotte Kohler Charlotte Kohler M St. Francis-Mountain View (CA) | 2024 State #17 Nation CA ; Taylor Suarez Taylor Suarez null | F Ardrey Kell (NC) | 2024 State #27 Nation NC , Amalia Villarreal Amalia Villarreal null | F State #3 Nation MI , Onyeka Gamero Onyeka Gamero F Whitney (CA) | 2024 State CA
Substitutes: Melina Rebimbas Melina Rebimbas F Rutgers Prep (NJ) | 2023 State #3 Nation NJ , Lauren Martinho Lauren Martinho M State #5 Nation NC , Mia Bhuta, Mia Oliaro Mia Oliaro F State #30 Nation NC , Shae Harvey Shae Harvey M State #22 Nation CA
Scoring summary: Amalia Villarreal Amalia Villarreal null | F State #3 Nation MI (3’), Charlotte Kohler Charlotte Kohler M St. Francis-Mountain View (CA) | 2024 State #17 Nation CA (32’), Riley Jackson Riley Jackson M Blessed Trinity (GA) | 2024 State GA (42’), Melina Rebimbas Melina Rebimbas F Rutgers Prep (NJ) | 2023 State #3 Nation NJ (56’)