The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team opened play at the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship with a rousing 8-0 victory against Trinidad & Tobago as seven different players scored a goal to lead the USA to a comfortable win at the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

Mallory Pugh led the way with two goals, including the opening score in the 32nd minute that finally broke the T&T bunker, and a blistering strike in the 81st minute that put a stamp on the match. Anika Rodriguez and Marley Canales also tallied first-half goals. Forward Madison Haley, who also had three assists including on both of Pugh’s goal, 14-year-old Civana Kuhlmann and defenders Zoe Morse and Natalie Jacobs found the net in the second half.

“I was really, really proud of our energy,” U-17 WNT head coach B.J. Snow said. “I thought the spirit of the team was excellent going into the game and sometimes the spirit can get the best of you when you start a qualifying tournament especially, when there are 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds involved. I was pleased to see them push through, build the game and continue to be patient, and when we got that first goal there was a big sigh of relief and then we could just play.

“The involvement of our team over 90 minutes was excellent,” he said. “We were able to find spaces to penetrate, whether it was the width or inside to find those pockets. Overall, I was very pleased.”

In the other Group B match, Canada defeated Guatemala 8-0, so both the USA and its northern neighbor sit atop the group with three points and tied on goal differential.

The top two finishers in each group will qualify for the semifinals. The teams will cross over with the first-place team in Group A playing second in Group B and vice-versa, with the semifinal winners earning CONCACAF’s two berths to the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup being held next March in Costa Rica.

Guatemala is up next for the USA on Saturday, Nov. 2, in a match that can be seen live on FOX Soccer Plus and online at FOX Soccer 2GO at 7 p.m. ET. Fans can also follow on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer_ynt.

The USA dominated the match in the mid-80-degree heat with heavy possession while Trinidad often kept nine field players deep inside its own half. For more than 30 minutes, the U.S. found plenty of room down the flanks with some excellent ball movement, but either could not connect with a runner or shot right at T&T goalkeeper Nicolette Craig.

Pugh’s fancy bit of dribbling opened the flood gates for the young Americans as she ran onto a pass from Haley inside the penalty area, swiveled around Craig and slotted the ball home for a 1-0 lead.

Six minutes later, Rodriguez finished well as she laced home a rebound off of a Pugh shot that had struck the right post and rolled toward the top of the penalty area. Just three minutes before the break, Canales sent the USA into half with a 3-0 lead, as Haley poked the ball back at the top of the penalty area on the left side and she struck a left-footed shot that deflected off of a Trinidad defender and found the left corner of the net.

After setting up her teammates in the first half, Haley became the beneficiary to start the second with her first goal of the tournament. In the 52nd minute, Rodriguez powerfully dribbled into the left side of the box, gliding past a pair of Trinidad defenders before a rolling square pass to Haley, who took one quick touch and drilled the ball past Craig inside the left post for a 4-0 lead. Haley now has five international goals in six U-17 WNT matches.

Snow sent on the 14-year-old Kuhlmann on the 73rd minute and it took her less than eight minutes to find the net, stuffing her shot into the left corner after some nice work on the left flank from 61st minute substitute Maddy Schultz. It was Kuhlmann’s first international match at the U-17 level and of course her first goal. She is the youngest player ever to score for the U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team program in international competition.

Pugh made it 6-0 in the 81st minute with her blast from just inside the penalty area and then the Americans finished the scoring with two headers from its center-backs, both off Tegan McGrady corner kicks from the right side. The first came just a minute after Pugh’s second goal as Morse powered home her header and then Jacobs did her best Abby Wambach impression two minutes from time to cap the scoring.

With both the USA and Canada scoring eight times, goal difference in the second round of Group B games will take on added importance as Canada faces T&T and the USA takes on Guatemala.

Additional Notes:

• Pugh is the leading goal scorer on this U-17 WNT with eight career goals in only six games.
• The USA out-shot T&T 39-0 and had 16 corner kicks to T&Ts zero.
• This is the first major international tournament for this group of U-17 players.
• The age cut-off for the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is players born on or after Jan. 1, 1997. Twelve of the 20 players on the roster were born in 1997, six were born in 1998 and two in 1999.
• U-17 WNT head coach B.J. Snow went with a 4-3-3 formation that featured a front line of Taylor Racioppi, Madison Haley and Anika Rodriguez.
• Rodriguez and starting midfielder Marley Canales are tied for the team lead with eight U-17 WNT caps.
• Maddy Schultz entered the match in the 61st minute for Racioppi. It marked Schultz’s third-career international appearance with the U-17s.
• The USA’s two 14-year-olds both saw the pitch in the second half as Frankie Tagliaferri joined Kuhlmann on the field for the final eight minutes after she replaced Mallory Pugh. It was the third international appearance for Tagliaferri.

-U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team Match Report-

Match: U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Date: Oct. 31, 2013
Competition: CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship
Venue: Montego Bay Sports Complex; Montego Bay, Jamaica
Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT
Attendance: 1,000
Weather: 86 degrees, humid, partly cloudy

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA                         3 5 8
TRI                          0 0 0

USA – Mallory Pugh (Madison Haley)       32nd minute
USA – Anika Rodriguez (Mallory Pugh)     38
USA – Marley Canales (Madison Haley)     42
USA – Madison Haley (Anika Rodriguez)   52
USA – Civana Kuhlmann (Maddy Schultz)  76
USA – Mallory Pugh (Madison Haley)        81
USA – Zoe Morse (Tegan McGrady)          82
USA – Natalie Jacobs (Tegan McGrady)     88

Lineups:
USA: 1-Lauren Rood; 10-Ellie Jean (capt.), 9-Zoe Morse, 6-Natalie Jacobs, 12-Tegan McGrady; 2-Dorian Bailey, 4-Marley Canales, 17-Mallory Pugh (25-Frankie Tagliaferri, 83); 14-Taylor Racioppi (22-Maddy Schultz, 61), 3-Madison Haley, 19-Anika Rodriguez (11-Civana Kuhlmann, 73)
Substitutions Not Used: 5-Gabriella Carreiro, 7-Mia Gyau, 8-Kelcie Hedge, 13-Taylor Otto, 15-Zoe Redei, 18-Katherine Hess
Head coach: B.J. Snow

TRI: 21-Nicolette Craig; 2-Tamara Johnson, 3-Renee Mike, 4-Natisha John (19-Chelcy Ralph, 62), 5-Amaya Ellis, 7-Dennecia Prince, 8-Summer Arjoon, 9-Zoe Swift (capt.) (10-Jahra Thomas, 90+3), 11-Eden Charles, 14-Chevonne John, 15-Corel Carmichael (17-Maya Matouk, 80)
Substitutions Not Used: 1-Rebecca Almandoz, 6-Abishai Guy, 12-Khaline Jacob, 13-Chelsea Frederick, 16-Kelsey Henry, 18-Jasandra Joseph
Head coach: Marlon Charles

Stats Summary: USA / TRI
Shots: 39 / 0
Shots on Goal: 16 / 0
Saves: 0 / 8
Corner Kicks: 16 / 0
Fouls: 11 / 7
Offside: 3 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
None