U.S. U-17 WNT faces Canada tonight in CONCACAF semifinals

U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team vs. Canada
2016 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship – Semifinal
Grenada Athletic Stadium; St. Georges, Grenada
March 11, 2016 (7 p.m. ET)
FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Soccer GO, FOX Soccer2Go

(Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team has reached the semifinals of the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship for the fifth consecutive time, once again winning all three group matches as it has done in the previous four editions of the tournament. Now the team has two chances to qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

As the winner of Group B, the USA will face the second-place finisher in Group A, Canada, in the second semifinal on Friday, March 11 (7 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. local on FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Soccer GO and FOX Soccer2Go). The other semifinal features Group A winner Haiti taking on Mexico, which finished second in Group B. The winners of the semifinals will qualify for the U-17 WWC and play each other for the tournament championship on Sunday, March 13. The teams that lose in the semifinals will play for third place and the final World Cup berth from CONCACAF.

All the games are live streamed on FOX Soccer 2Go including the third-place and championship game, both of which will also be broadcast on FS2. Go to foxsoccer2go.com and enter promo code “U17WNT” on the registration page when prompted.  The promo code can be activated from March 3-13.

HOW WE GOT HERE: The USA swept through group play by winning all three matches, extending its streak of winning every group match in all five CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championships. Ashley Sanchez and Frankie Tagliaferri each scored four goals with Civana Kuhlmann (2) and Alexa Spaanstra scoring the other three.  The one goal surrendered is the fewest of any team in the tournament.

Group B Results:
Match Day 2: Mexico 4, Costa Rica 2; USA 8, Jamaica 1.
Match Day 4: Costa Rica 3, Jamaica 2; USA 1, Mexico 0
Match Day 6: USA 2, Costa Rica 0; Mexico 1, Jamaica 0

2016 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship Group B Final Standings

GROUP SUCCESS: The USA won its group for the fifth consecutive tournament, extending its unbeaten run in the group stage to 15-0-0 while outscoring opponents 102-2 all-time in group play. While the USA has never lost a knockout round game in regulation or overtime, the team twice fell on penalty kicks in the semifinals. Overall, the USA has 23-game unbeaten streak (21-0-2) in this tournament since it began in 2008, outscoring opponents 130-4.

DEEP AND BALANCED TEAM: Head Coach B.J. Snow helped the group navigate the challenging group stage undefeated while utilizing 19 of the 20 players on the roster. Seventeen different players started a group match, with only backup goalkeeper Hillary Beal yet to see action.

• The four players with previous World Cup qualifying experience – Ashley Sanchez and Kiara Pickett with the U-20 WNT, and Frankie Tagliaferri and Civana Kulhmann at the last U-17 Championship – combined for 10 of the 11 goals.
• On the other end of the age spectrum, three youngsters also contributed. Kennedy Wesley, who started against Mexico as a 14-year-old, earned a second start against Costa Rica on her 15th birthday; 15 year-old Kate Wiesner started two matches; and Jordan Caniff, also 14, was the youngest player to see action when she entered in the second half against Costa Rica.
• Three players have played all 270 minutes of the tournament so far in defenders Naomi Girma and Brianna Pinto and goalkeeper Laurel Ivory. Sanchez is the only other start all four games.
• Thirteen players on the roster have played at least 148 minutes heading into the semifinal.
• Ashley Sanchez now has 16 U-17 international goals in 12 caps.
• Sophia Smith leads the team in qualifying with three assists. Kiara Pickett has two and three other players have one assist.
• Eight players on the U.S. roster are now in double-figures in U-17 caps.
• With two goals in the 8-1 win over Jamaica, Civana Kulhmann became the second USA player to score in multiple U-17 Championships. She also scored in the opening match of the 2013 tournament, an 8-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, as well as in the third place match, a 8-0 win over Jamaica. Previously, Morgan Brian scored in both the 2008 and 2010 tournaments.
• Frankie Tagliaferri became the fourth USA player to score four or more goals in a CONCACA U-17 Women’s Championship game. The last to do it was Zoe Redei, who scored four goals in a 7-0 win over Guatemala in 2013. Summer Green holds the U.S. record for most goals in a CONCACAF U-17 Championship game with five, which she tallied in a 10-0 win over the Bahamas in 2010. The other four-goal scorer was Lindsay Horan in a 9-0 win over Haiti in 2010.

SCORING MACHINE: With goals in all three group games of the U-17 tournament, Ashley Sanchez has now scored in five straight CONCACAF Championship games over two age categories. In December at the CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship, Sanchez scored twice in the USA’s 7-0 semifinal win over Honduras, and then scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 win over Canada to claim the championship title.

ABOUT THAT U-20 FINAL: Sanchez and her teammates could be facing up to six Canadian players who were on Canada’s U-20 team in Jamaica last December. Sarah Stratiaskis, Shana Flynn, Lysianne Proulx, Anyssa Regan and Anyssa Ibrahim all started against the USA in the Under-20 Women’s Championship final, which the USA won 1-0. The other player on both Canadian rosters, Vital Kats, did not play in the U-20 final.

USA-CANADA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The U-17 WNT and Canada have met three times in this tournament to date: once in the group stage, once in the semifinals, and once in the final.

• 2010 Semifinal (in Costa Rica): USA 0, Canada 0

Canada advanced 5-3 on penalty kicks. Since the World Cup was to be hosted in Trinidad and Tobago, only two CONCACAF teams qualified from the U-17 Women’s Championship, thus the loss eliminated the USA from advancing to the World Cup despite having outscore opponents 38-0 during the tournament.

• 2012 Final (in Guatemala): USA 1, Canada 0

The U.S. U-17 WNT won the CONCACAF championship, roaring through group play by outscoring its opponents 18-0, and then defeating Panama 7-0 in the all-important semifinal to qualify for the 2012 U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan. The USA then defeated Canada in the championship game 1-0 on a goal from Amber Munerlyn.

• 2013 Group Stage (in Jamaica): USA 2, Canada 0

The USA defeated Canada behind goals from Zoe Redei and Mallory Pugh in the third match of group play, finishing atop Group B with three points while outscoring opponents 17-0.

IN FOCUS: CANADA
Canadian Soccer Association
U-17 WNT Head Coach: Bev Priestman

HOW CANADA GOT HERE: Canada finished second in Group A behind winners Haiti, to whom they lost 2-1 on the final day of group games as Haiti scored twice late to win. Seven different players scored Canada’s 11 goals, led by Teni Akindoju with three, followed by Jordyn Huitema (2), Sarah Stratigakis (2), Jayde Riviere, Vital Kats, Kennedy Faulknor and Nahida Baalbaki. Canada only conceded two goals, which was second best in the group stage.

Group A Results:
Match Day 1: Canada 3, Guatemala 0; Haiti 13, Grenada 0
Match Day 3: Haiti 3, Guatemala 2; Canada 7, Grenada 0
Match Day 5: Haiti 2, Canada 1; Guatemala 7, Grenada 0

2016 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship Group A Final Standings

MORE ON CANADA: Canada is the only CONCACAF team to qualify for all four previous editions of the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup. Similar to the USA, Canada also has players with previous World Cup Qualifying experience. Six players played in the 2015 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship (Sarah Stratigaskis, Shana Flynn, Vital Kats, Lysianne Proulx, Emma Regan and Anyssa Ibrahim), and four on Canada’s 2013 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship in Jamaica (Stratigaskis, Proulx, Nahida Baalbaki and Ibrahim). Also featured on this roster is Kennedy Faulknor who recently spent three months with the Women’s National Team and competed in a tournament in Brazil.

CANADA U-17 WNT CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Marissa Zucchetto (Unionville Miliken SC), 18-Lysianne Proulx (Varennes)
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Emma Regan (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), 3-Julia Grosso (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), 5-Kennedy Faulknor (Unionville Miliken SC), 6-Samantha Chang (Unionville Miliken SC), 13-Nadège L’Espérance (Lakeshore), 16-Ashley Cathro (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
MIDFIELDERS (6): 4-Nahida Baalbaki (Saint-Leonard), 8-Sarah Stratigakis (Unionville Miliken SC), 10-Anyssa Ibrahim (Varennes), 11-Camila Gomez (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), 12-Vital Kats (GS United), 14-Caitlin Shaw (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
FORWARDS (6): 7-Shana Flynn (Unionville Miliken SC), 15-Lauren Raimondo (Unionville Miliken SC), 17-Teni Akindoju (Halifax Dunbrack SC), Jordyn Huitema (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Jayde Riviere (Markham SC), 19-Aaliyah Scott (Toronto Skillz FC)