MIAMI, Florida – The Dominican Republic nailed down the fourth and final semifinal spot in League A with a victory on Thursday at the 2022 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship in Tampa, Florida.
Lila Algarin’s second half goal was enough to propel the Caribbean side to a 1-0 victory over Wales to secure second place in Group A and a place in the semifinal round.
Also in Group A on the day, Mexico finished their group stage campaign with a perfect nine points from three games with a 2-1 triumph over Costa Rica. Goals from Mariana Andonaegui and Amy Corona outweighed Lucia Paniagua’s score for the Ticas.
The United States also completed a perfect group stage campaign in Group B by downing Canada 1-0 thanks to a goal from Kennedy Fuller. The day’s other game in Group B ended with a 4-2 victory for Puerto Rico against Jamaica. Susana Roberts bagged a brace to help pace the Boricuas past the Reggae Girlz.
In League B play, Nicaragua rallied from a 2-0 deficit to draw fellow Central American side Honduras 2-2 and force a penalty shootout, which Nicaragua won 4-3 in the first League B semifinal. Arely Marin and Perla Garache scored for Nicaragua, while Honduras got goals from Karla Gomez and a Nicaragua own goal.
In the other League B semifinal, Aruba continued their winning ways in a 1-0 final over Martinique. The decisive goal came courtesy of Bindiya Wadhwani.
The other teams from League B also closed out their respective Girls’ U15 Championship tournaments, beginning with Guyana using a Heike Clarke brace to help down Turks and Caicos Islands 3-1.
A goal from Harper Nelson enabled the Cayman Islands to finish the tournament on a high note in a 1-0 final versus Bermuda, while Gabriella Quezada struck for two goals to lead US Virgin Islands past Belize 2-0.
Rounding out the day it was Anguilla posting a 2-0 win over Bahamas, thanks to goals from Kaylee Durand and T’nizha Willet.
The action at the Girls’ U15 Championship will continue on Friday, highlighted by the League A semifinals.
2018 champions USA will take on Dominican Republic, while Mexico will square off with Canada.
The other teams from League A will also be hoping to end their tournament on a winning note in their final placement games, as Wales meet Puerto Rico and Costa Rica duels with Jamaica.
