SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic– The Dominican Republic put on a show for the home fans with a 7-0 victory over Honduras in their opening match in Group C of the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship.
Leading the way for the hosts was Liliane Clase, who scored a pair of goals to help the Dominican Republic secure the three points.
For Clase, it was a sense of togetherness that carried the Dominican Republic to victory.
“Before the game the coach spoke with us and said things to motivate us, the most important was our unity. The unity of the team was key and that helped us out individually,” said Clase in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com following the match.
Team captain and FW Alyssa Oviedo, who also had a brace versus Honduras, was beaming with pride following her team’s effort.
“I think we have a very good balance of two types of football and I am very proud of the team,” said Oviedo.
Next up for the Dominican Republic is a tough test with the United States. Clase and her teammates are well aware of the challenges they will face.
“It will be a very hard game. We will give out our all, just like we did today,” said Clase.
In particular, the U.S. has won the competition four times, yet Oviedo feels like this can be the moment that the Dominican Republic shows the rest of the region that they can be one of the top teams in the years to come.
“We know that when we walk onto the field, it will be 11 players versus 11 players and if we play with heart like Dominican teams always do, we’ll be successful. Any time that you play with heart, you’ll be successful,” concluded Oviedo.
