U20 WNT wins CONCACAF for fourth time
For the fourth consecutive cycle, the U.S. U20 Women’s National Team rules CONCACAF.
The U.S. benefitted from a late second-half miscue from Canada on Sunday night to take home a 1-0 victory in the finale of the U20 CONCACAF Championship in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Ashley Sanchez leapt on a Canadian lapse at the back in the 72nd minute to secure a fourth straight CONCACAF crown stretching back to the 2010 tournament.
The last time the U.S. lost in this competition was in the 2008 final against Canada. Since then, it has not lost in 20 games, a span in which the team has gone 19-0-1. The only draw came against Mexico this year in the first group game, when Mexico scrabbled back from 2-0 down for a 2-2 draw.
The U.S. had already qualified for the 2016 U20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea via a win in the semifinals, but it added an emphatic exclamation point with yet another regional trophy to add to the case.
Highly touted 2016 UCLA commit Mallory Pugh won the tournament’s Golden Boot with seven goals in five games. Jessie Scarpa finished second for the U.S. with five.
Sunday’s game was as even as any the U.S. has experienced in Honduras, and it was poised on the edge of a razor over the first 70 minutes. Both teams enjoyed meaningful forays forward, but it was a disastrous mistake at the back that decided the closest game the U.S. U20 WNT has played in CONCACAF competition in more than eight years.
In the 72nd minute, Canadian keeper Lysianne Prouix tried to play short off a seemingly harmless back pass, but she scuffed her one-time pass to the other flank off a meekly rolling ball, and her effort dribbled harmlessly into the 18-yard box. Predatory striker Sanchez lay in wait, and she only needed one settling touch before smashing a low-rolling burner past Prouix for the game’s only goal.
It was a tough break for a Canada team that had defended against the Americans better than anyone had in several cycles. The U.S. was fresh off a 7-0 pasting of Honduras in the semifinal, and the American attack looked as robust as it had all tournament. The Canadian defense, however, did well to cut off most of the U.S. attacks before they reached critical mass.
The matchup was hardly without its precedent. The U.S. and Canada have met for three of the last five regional titles, with the U.S. winning two of those. Canada is looking to follow up on a steady performance as hosts at the 2014 U20 Women’s World Cup when they advanced to the knockouts.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will take a team hungry to capture its fourth World Cup. The U.S. crashed out in the quarterfinals against North Korea in 2014 despite high expectations following the 2012 title. Coach Michelle French, who is now in her second cycle, will choose a group led from the front by Pugh, who will likely join keeper Rose Chandler as the only holdovers from the 2014 roster.
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