Preview: U-20 WYNT Aims To Lock Up Top Spot In Group E Vs. Host Dominican Republic

U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team vs. Dominican Republic

2022 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship - Group E

Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

6 p.m. ET (FS2, TUDN Digital)

 

U-20 WYNT WRAPS UP GROUP STAGE AT CWU20:

The U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team will finish group play at the 2022 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship on Tuesday, March 1 against host Dominican Republic (6 p.m. ET). The USA is off to a flying start at World Cup qualifying, topping Nicaragua 6-0 and Puerto Rico 7-0 in its first two matches. The Dominican Republic, a semifinalist at the 2020 competition, has split its first two games, falling 3-1 to Puerto Rico before beating Nicaragua 3-1. The U.S. has clinched a berth in the knockout stage as the top three teams in the group advance to the Round of 16. The USA needs a tie or a win against the Dominican Republic to claim the top spot in Group E.

 

Tuesday’s match will be broadcast live on FS2 and TUDN Digital. Follow the U-20 WNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2022 CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP 
USA SCHEDULE

 

Date	Match	Kickoff (ET)/Result	TV Info	Venue
Friday, Feb. 25	USA vs. Nicaragua	W 6-0	Fox Soccer Plus, TUDN	Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Sunday, Feb. 27	USA vs. Puerto Rico	W 7-0	Fox Soccer Plus, TUDN Digital (App and Website)	Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Tuesday, March 1	USA vs. Dominican Republic	6:00 p.m.	FS2, TUDN Digital (App and Website)	Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

 

 

USA VS. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

 

●      The U.S. faced Dominican Republic twice at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, also held in the Dominican Republic. The nations squared off in the group stage and World Cup-clinching semifinals. In the group stage, the U.S. topped the hosts 4-0 and left no doubt in the semis, winning 6-0 to secure a berth for what turned out to the canceled 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

 

●      Five players return from the Dominican Republic’s 2020 semifinal run at this tournament.

 

●      The U.S. and DR also played in the opening match of the 2004 tournament, a 14-0 win for the USA that included a brace from current USWNT star Megan Rapinoe.

 

●      This is the Dominican Republic’s third appearance at the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship.

 

●      Fifteen of 20 players are based in the United States, five in colleges and 10 at youth clubs.

 

●      Defender Nadia Colon is a teammate of the USA’s Trinity Byars and Alexis Missimo at the University of Texas. Forward Angelina Vargas plays at PDA in New Jersey, where U.S. defender Emily Mason also played youth soccer.

 

2022 CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP

GROUP E STANDINGS

 

Team	W	L	D	GD	Pts.
USA	2	0	0	13	6
Puerto Rico	1	1	0	-5	3
Dominican Republic	1	1	0	0	3
Nicaragua	0	2	0	-8	0

GROUP E RESULTS

Feb. 25

USA 6, Nicaragua 0

Puerto Rico 3, Dominican Republic 1

 

Feb. 27

USA 7, Puerto Rico 0

Dominican Republic 3, Nicaragua 1

 

USA KEEPS ROLLING:

The U.S. put together another convincing win in its second match of the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, defeating Puerto Rico 7-0 as forward Avery Patterson netted four goals in the first half. Playing in her first-ever international match, Patterson recorded just the seventh four-goal game for the USA in tournament history, while midfielder Alexis Missimo and defender Emily Mason also netted their first U-20 goals. Forward Andrea Kitahata scored the final goal in the 7-0 victory. In addition to Patterson, U.S. head coach Tracey Kevins also gave first U-20 WYNT caps to goalkeeper Neeku Purcell plus central defenders Lauren Flynn and Lilly Reale, all of whom helped secure the shut-out without allowing a single shot from Las Boricuas.

DR LOOKS FOR MOMENTUM AT HOME:

After dropping a back-and-forth match to Puerto Rico in its tournament opener, the Dominican Republic got back on the right track with a 3-1 win vs. Nicaragua. Angelina Vargas got the hosts on the board just before halftime, then added a second in the 64th minute. Ariana Diaz put the game out of reach in the 69th before Nicaragua pulled one back in the waning minutes. In 2020, the DR finished second to the USA in group play before going on a run to the semifinals with victories over El Salvador and Jamaica, this year’s team will look to get similar momentum rolling on home soil.

 

2022 CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (COLLEGE OR CLUB; HOMETOWN; U-20 CAPS/GOALS)

 

GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Mia Justus (Florida State; Lakewood, Ohio; 2/0), 12-Neeku Purcell (OL Reign Academy; Seattle, Wash.; 1/0)

 

DEFENDERS (7): 14-Lauren Flynn (Florida State; Arlington, Va.; 1/0), 13-Samar Guidry (Virginia; McKinney, Texas; 5/0), 4-Emily Mason (Rutgers; Flemington, N.J.; 8/1), 15-Aidan McConnell (Wisconsin; Dexter, Mich.; 1/1), 3-Ayo Oke (California; Lawrenceville, Ga.; 2/0), 5-Lilly Reale (UCLA; Hingham, Mass.; 1/0), 2-Laney Rouse (Virginia, Cary, N.C.; 2/0)

 

MIDFIELDERS (5): 6-Emily Colton (UNC; Carlsbad, Calif.; 2/0), 20-Talia DellaPeruta (UNC; Cumming, Ga.; 12/0), 17-Sally Menti (Santa Clara; Seattle, Wash.; 3/0), 10-Alexis Missimo (Texas; Southlake, Texas; 2/1), 8-Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; Wilsonville, Ore.; 1/1)

 

FORWARDS (6): 18-Trinity Byars (Texas; Richardson, Texas; 2/0), 9-Michelle Cooper (Duke; Clarkston, Mich.; 2/1), 7-Simone Jackson (USC; Redondo Beach, Calif.; 1/1), 19-Andrea Kitahata (Stanford; Hillsborough, Calif.; 2/3), 16-Avery Patterson (UNC; Jacksonville, Fla.; 1/4), 11-Alyssa Thompson (Total Futbol Academy; Studio City, Calif.; 2/0)

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

 

●      Forward Avery Patterson completed her hat trick vs. Puerto Rico in the 24^th minute of play, the third-fastest from the opening whistle for the USA at this tournament since a champion started being crowned in 2004. Brianna Pinto netted three goals by the 20th minute in the 2020 tournament, while Kerri Hanks completed a triple by minute 21 in 2004.

 

●      The 16-minute span (goals in the eighth, 11th and 24th) was the shortest for the U.S. at this tournament since 2004.

 

●      Patterson’s four goals put her at the top of the tournament’s Golden Boot race. With three goals forward Andrea Kitahata is tied for second with two Kittitian players and one Canadian player.

 

●      Seven players have scored so far for the USA at CWU20: Avery Patterson (four), Kitahata (three), Michelle Cooper, Simone Jackson, Emily Mason, Aidan McConnell, Alexis Missimo and Olivia Moultrie.

 

●      After Sunday’s match against Puerto Rico, all 19 players on the roster have now been capped at the U-20 level.

 

●      Forward Sally Menti was ruled out of the tournament due to a broken wrist suffered in the first game, leaving the USA with a 19-player roster for the remainder of the tournament.

 

●      Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2002, are age-eligible for the 2022 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship. U.S. head coach Tracey Kevins selected nine players born in 2002, nine born in 2003, one born in 2004 and one born in 2005.

 

●      The original roster, before Menti’s injury, consisted of 17 collegiate players, two youth club players and one professional.

 

●      Midfielder Talia DellaPeruta is seeking her fourth youth Concacaf title after winning previous championships at the U-15 (2016), U-17 (2018) and U-20 (2020) levels.

 

●      Forward Alyssa Thompson, one of two youth club players on the roster, helped the U-15 WYNT win the 2018 Concacaf U-15 Championship. While that tournament featured mostly 2003-birth year players, the USA brought a younger squad composed of players born in 2004 and 2005, including the 2004-born Thompson.

 

DR ROSTER

 

GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Odaliana Gomez (Matchfit FC/USA), 12-Paloma Peña (FC Prime/USA)

DEFENDERS (6): 3-Nadia Colon (Texas/USA), 4-Gabriella Marte (Penn Fusion Soccer Academy/USA), 5-Karla Muñiz (Santa Fe FC/USA), 17-Alexa Pacheco (Goldey Beacom College/USA), 14-Paola Then (Santa Fe FC/USA), 2-Isabella Ventura (FC Prime/USA)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 13-Janine Diaz (Cibao FC), 19-Stephanie Espinal (Cibao FC), 6-Keisla Gil (5 de Abril), 15-Jazmin Herrera (FC Prime/USA), 18-Emily Pichardo (Barton College/USA), 16-Maria Torreira (Santa Fe FC/USA)

FORWARDS (6): 11-Liliane Clase (Angelina College/USA), 9-Ariana Diaz (East Meadow Soccer Club/USA), 10-Jendy Matos (Bob Soccer Club), 20-Camila Morel (Bob Soccer Club), 8-Jazlyn Oviedo (Monmouth/USA), 7-Angelina Vargas (Players Development Academy/USA)

 

RETURN TO ACTION:

The sporting world shut down due to the global COVID-19 pandemic shortly after the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship wrapped up on March 8, 2020, canceling the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and all Youth National Team programming for the rest of the year. The U-20 WYNT finally returned to the field for its first traditional training camp in October 2021 with a roster of top youth club players, while a squad of standout collegiate players was assembled in December 2021 ahead of World Cup qualifying. Only four players on the WCQ roster had U-20 WYNT international match experience prior to the tournament kicking off, led by midfielder Talia DellaPeruta’s 10 caps.

 

TOURNAMENT FORMAT:

This year marks the 11th edition of the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship. The tournament began in 2002 as the CONCACAF Women’s U-19 Championship, qualifying two teams to the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup.

 

The 2020 competition introduced a new 20-team tournament format after all previous iterations were comprised of eight teams split into two groups of four. Now, sixteen countries are drawn into four groups of four, while four countries advance directly to the Round of 16 via a pre-qualifying tournament.

 

The top three finishers in each group qualify to the Round of 16, where they will be joined by the four teams from pre-qualifying. From there, it’s a knockout bracket to the tournament final. The two winners of the semifinal matches, plus the winner of the third-place game, will qualify to the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.

 

The three teams that earn World Cup berths in the Dominican Republic will join Costa Rica as representatives of Concacaf at this summer’s world championship tournament. Costa Rica qualified automatically as host.