CONCACAF Women’s U-20 championship: US and Mexico likely for final

The Cayman Islands is bracing for an exciting end to the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 championship. 

Hundreds of locals have been attending matches over the last week to support the Cayman team and the regional powerhouses. While the Cayman national team may have been knocked out of the competition, there will still be plenty of top-class action at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex. 

Mexico faces Costa Rica in the first semifinal on Friday at 4 p.m., and then defending champion USA takes on Trinidad and Tobago at 7 p.m. All matches are free entry. The third-place match is on Sunday, and the championship game follows, also at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. At stake are three berths to the Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Canada in August. 

Gloriana Villalobos, 14, a midfielder for the Costa Rican squad, said success in Cayman depends on team chemistry. 

“We have to be united on the pitch,” Miss Villalobos said in a CONCACAF interview. “A team can do more things than just one player, so we have to be a united team. We want to show that Costa Rican women can also play football well. In Costa Rica, much is talked about men’s football, so then it is important that we do well and show that women can also play. These international matches give an opportunity to earn more experience. Things are learned in matches and when we make errors, we learn how to correct them.” 

Weather is not expected to be a factor for this weekend’s games. According to the last available five-day forecast from the Cayman Islands National Weather Service, there will be cloudy skies with a 30 percent chance of showers on Friday and partly cloudy skies with a 20 percent chance of showers on Sunday. 

Mexico is expected to reach the final, and the dominant Americans look too strong for the Trinidadians. If all goes according to form, the final match should be a close, thrilling affair which could go either way.  

Best players of the tournament so far include Mexico’s Tanya Samarzich and Jazmin Aguas, Trinidad’s Donika Murray and Brianna Ryce and several Americans, particularly Savannah Jordan, Margaret Purce, Lindsey Horan and McKenzie Meehan. Samarzich is the tournament’s top scorer with six goals. Meehan and Horan are next with four each. 

Horan, 19, is a forward who plays professionally for Paris Saint-Germain, and she places great importance on competing in the CONCACAF tournament. 

“I want to be a member of this team going forward and play in the World Cup since I haven’t played in a World Cup yet,” Miss Horan said. “I think it’s important for me to play in the U-20 World Cup. Obviously, long-term, I want to be a member of the full U.S. Women’s National Team. 

“I always like coming back and training with my national team, especially in these tournaments where we’re playing against really good teams. It’s huge for us. Our team always wants to perform at our best and it’s what we did.”  

Cayman lost all three of its group matches, with defeats to Mexico (6-0), Trinidad and Tobago (4-0) and Honduras (3-0). Cayman conceded 13 goals and did not score a goal in their Group B games, but to their credit, they showed fighting spirit throughout. They fielded one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the competition, many of whom were making their international debuts.  

The local women’s football pool is tiny compared to other countries in the CONCACAF region and in spite of those losses, at least Cayman knows what it needs to do to be more competitive in the future.  

Sports tourism in Cayman has earned a welcome boost through the staging of the tournament. More than 300 players, coaches, officials, administrators, supporters and CONCACAF staff are taking part, providing millions of dollars in extra revenue to the local economy because many arrived on Jan. 2 and will not leave until after the final match on Jan. 20. 

The three main hotels hosting the visitors are the Marriott Grand Cayman Beach Resort, Holiday Inn and Comfort Suites. Restaurants, car rentals, retail shops and sports bars are also getting business from the visitors.