U-20 USWNT beats Dominican Republic 4-0 to reach World Cup Qualifying knockout stage

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team defeated host Dominican Republic 4-0 in its second Group C match at the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship. With the victory, the U.S. clinched a spot in the Round of 16.

U.S head coach Laura Harvey made six changes to the starting XI from the team that opened the tournament with a 9-0 victory against Cuba. The new-look line-up picked up right where the U.S. left off, as the dynamic American attack dominated the hosts, outshooting Dominican Republic 19-3 for the game as forward Mia Fishel bagged an early brace while forward Rebecca Jarrett and midfielder Brianna Pinto also added goals.

The U.S. started the match strong. Two goals from Fishel and one from Jarrett saw the U-20 WNT jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the 12^th minute. Fishel’s two goals gave her six in the tournament, good for the most in the competition thus far.

While the USA continued to push forward, Dominican Republic defended with intensity and the U.S. wouldn’t score again until midway through the second half. Jarrett assisted Pinto for the fourth and final goal of the match.

This year’s Women’s U-20 Championship will send just two teams to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, rather than the usual three, due to the World Cup being played in the Concacaf region and hosts Costa Rica and Panama both receiving automatic bids. Having qualified for the knockout stage, the U.S. will aim for the top spot in Group C against Honduras on Wednesday, Feb. 26 before the Round of 16 kicks off on Feb. 29.

Next on the Schedule: The U-20 WNT wraps up Group C play on Wednesday, Feb. 26 vs. Honduras (6 p.m. ET).

Social: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:

USA – Mia Fishel (Brianna Pinto), 3rd minute: Pinto intercepted a pass at midfield and took a few touches before playing a through ball to Fishel, putting the forward in alone on goal behind the defense. Fishel then calmly placed her shot low inside the right post for the early lead. USA 1, DOM 0

USA – Rebecca Jarrett (Maycee Bell), 8th minute: Center back Maycee Bell played a long ball over the top to a sprinting Jarrett, who beat Dominican Republic goalkeeper Nayelis Lopez to the ball just outside the penalty area. Jarrett rounded the ‘keeper with her first touch and then chipped the ball into the open net with her left foot. USA 2, DOM 0

USA – Mia Fishel (Kennedy Wesley), 12th minute: After a nice one-two combination with Pinto, outside back Kennedy Wesley drove down the left wing before striking a left-footed cross on the ground. Wesley’s perfect service was met by Fishel, who shot first-time from the top of the six-yard box to make it 3-0. USA 3, DOM 0

USA – Brianna Pinto (Rebecca Jarrett), 65th minute: Jarrett was able to track down a poor clearance by Lopez, running the ball down in the right corner before it cleared the end line. Jarrett then spun to beat a Dominican Republic defender, dribbled at goal and sent a square pass to Pinto in the middle of the box. Pinto took one touch and then buried a low, left-footed from 10 yards out.  USA 4, DOM 0

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Rebecca Jarrett’s goal was her first at the U-20 level in her sixth cap.
• Julia Dohle made her first start of the tournament in goal and earned the shutout
• Defender Maycee Bell’s assist was her first at the U-20 level in her fifth cap.
• Six players have scored for the USA at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship: Midfielders Brianna Pinto (three), Alexa Spaanstra and Summer Yates as well as forwards Mia Fishel (six), Rebecca Jarrett and Samantha Meza.
• The result marked the USA’s 30^th shut-out all-time in this tournament
• The USA improves to 2-0-0 vs. the Dominican Republic all-time at this tournament, winning the games by a combined 18-0 goal differential.
• With her 34^th U-20 appearance today, Pinto moved into a tie for sixth all-time in U-20 caps. Maya Hayes holds the record with 43 U-20 appearances.

U.S. UNDER-20 WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT

Match: U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team vs. Dominican Republic U-20 WNT
Date: February 24, 2020
Competition: 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship – Group C
Venue: Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Kickoff: 4 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring Summary:   1          2          F
USA                            3          1          4
DOM                           0          0          0

USA – Mia Fishel (Brianna Pinto)                   4th minute
USA – Rebecca Jarrett (Maycee Bell)            8
USA – Mia Fishel (Kennedy Wesley)             12
USA – Brianna Pinto (Rebecca Jarrett)          65

LINEUPS:

USA: 1-Julia Dohle; 3-Emily Mason, 14-Maycee Bell, 4-Sierra Enge, 15-Kennedy Wesley (20-Talia DellaPeruta, 55); 10-Jenna Nighswonger (Capt.) (18-Katelyn Duong, 52), 6-Brianna Pinto, 17-Alexa Spaanstra (7-Summer Yates, 73); 16-Rebecca Jarrett, 9-Mia Fishel, 19-Samantha Meza

Subs Not Used: 2-Brianna Martinez, 5-Naomi Girma, 8-Trinity Rodman, 11-Sophia Smith, 13-Shae Holmes

Head Coach: Laura Harvey

DOM: 12-Nayelis Lopez; 2-Lynette Ureña, 6-Alicia Victoria, 7-Mia Asenjo, 8-Nicole De Jesus, 9-Kristina Garcia, 10-Marianelys Perez (16-Dahien Cabrera, 72), 11-Alyssa Oviedo (Capt.) (7-Ana Santos, 85), 13-Nadia Colon, 14-Giovanna Dionicio, 20-Alexa Pacheco (19-Liliane Clase, 30)

Subs Not Used: 1-Mirda Minyety, 3-Carmen Lorenzo, 4-Gabriela Marte, 5-Briena Hallo, 15-Stefany Espinal, 18-Jazlyn Oviedo

Head Coach: Diego Gutierrez

Stats Summary: USA / DOM
Shots: 19 / 3
Shots on Goal: 7 / 1
Saves: 1 / 3
Corner Kicks: 8 / 1
Fouls: 12 / 8
Offside: 3 / 2

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Maycee Bell (caution)              63rd minute

Officials:
Referee: Katia Garcia (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Carolina Briones (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Mayra Mora (MEX)
Fourth Official: John Nielsen (CAN)