U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team defeats Mexico 4-0
FIUMICELLO, Italy (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team defeated Mexico 4-0 in its second game at the Torneo Femminile Delle Nazioni with Lia Godfrey scoring twice while Maya Doms and Kate Wiesner added single goals.
The win gives the USA four points from two games after its 1-1 tie with Slovenia on April 25. The Americans will finish group play against England on Friday, April 28 at ND Adria Miren in Miren, Slovenia, which is located just over the border with Italy.
The USA currently sits atop Group A and needs a win against England to secure first place in the group. The USA could also win the group with a tie depending on the Mexico-Slovenia result.
+READ: U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team earns 1-1 draw vs. Slovenia
Italy certainly sits atop Group B with a win and a tie, although it has scored just one goal with a 1-0 win against Germany and a 0-0 draw with France.
After group play, each team will play a placement game on Saturday, April 29, with the group winners playing for the championship, the second-place finishers playing for third, the third-place finishers playing for fifth and the fourth-place finishers playing for seventh.
The match consisted of 35-minute halves but the USA wasted no time getting on the board, scoring in just the first minute through Godfrey’s first international goal in her seventh U-17 cap.
The goal came just seconds into the match on a wild play as the USA sent a ball down the right wing and the Mexico goalkeeper came way out of her goal while attempting to clear, but instead collided with her own defender and a U.S. attacker about 35 yards from the net, causing both to go down in a heap.
The ball squirted loose to Doms who shot at the open net from just outside the penalty box on the right side. The ball rolled all the way across the goal, through the legs of a retreating and falling defender, and directly to the crashing Godfrey, who had an easy tap-in at the far post.
Doms doubled the lead in the ninth minute after Payton Linnehan worked her way free on the right wing and sent a hard cross on a line into the middle that was fumbled by the Mexico goalkeeper. Doms was first to the spill and bundled the ball into the net with her thigh for her first U-17 international goal.
Godfrey bagged her second to complete an incredible opening 13 minutes when the USA’s high pressure won a service from the Mexican goalkeeper and sent the ball back to the top of the penalty box. Doms won the ball there and played a short pass to Godfrey into the left side of the area. She finished calmly and crisply with her left foot into the lower right corner from 16 yards out.
The fourth goal came in the 46th minute after Godfrey was chopped down in the penalty area. Kate Wiesner brushed off some show-boating from the Mexico goalkeeper to blast her perfect shot into the upper corner. It was Wiesner’s first international goal in her 16th cap at the U-17 level. Both Wiesner and Godfrey are in their second U-17 WNT cycle and were members of the USA’s 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Team.
The Torneo delle Nazioni has been held for boys’ teams for the past 14 years (including this one), but this is just the second time it has been held for women’s teams.
The year’s competition is for players born in 2001 or later and features two groups of four teams each, with the USA in Group B along with Slovenia, England and Mexico. Group A features Italy, France, Germany and Belgium. The tournament is being staged at 15 different venues, nine in Italy and six in Slovenia.
The U.S. roster features 18 players born in 2001, which is the age cut-off year for the next FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, taking place in Uruguay.
Group A Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts. | GF | GA | GD |
| USA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
| ENG | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| MEX | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | -1 |
| SLV | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 |
Group A Results
April 25
USA 1, Slovenia 1
Mexico 2, England 1
April 26
USA 4, Mexico 0
England 1, Slovenia 0
April 28
USA vs. England
Slovenia vs. Mexico
Group B Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts. | GF | GA | GD |
| ITA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| BEL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| GER | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| FRA | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
Group B Results
April 24
Italy 0, France 0
April 25
Germany 2, Belgium 1
April 26
Italy 1, Germany 0
Belgium 1, France 0
April 28
Italy vs. Belgium
France vs. Germany
– U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Under-17 WNT vs. Mexico U-17 WNT
Date: April 26, 2017
Competition: Torneo Femminile delle Nazioni
Venue: ASD Fiumicello; Fiumicello, Italy
Attendance: 100
Weather: 53 degrees, rainy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 3 1 4
MEX 0 0 0
USA – Lia Godfrey (Maya Doms) 1st minute
USA – Maya Doms (Payton Linnehan) 9
USA – Lia Godfrey (Maya Doms) 13
USA – Kate Wiesner (penalty kick) 46
Lineups:
USA: 12-Lindsey Romig, 3-Kate Wiesner (17-Talia DellaPeruta, 55), 5-Leah Scarpelli, 6-Kennedy Wesley (capt.), 2-Makenna Morris, 14-Lia Godfrey, 11-Croix Bethune, 20-Hollyn Torres, 18-Payton Linnehan (10-Mia Fishel, 68), 15-Maya Doms, 16-Kalyssa Van Zanten (13-Sunshine Fontes, 53)
Subs not used: 1-Ruth Jones; 4-Tori Hansen, 7-Samantha Meza, 8-Astrid Wheeler, 19-Madison Mercado, 9-Jordan Canniff
Head Coach: Mark Carr
MEX: 1-Jaidy Campos, 2-Reyna Stubblefield, 3-Nicole Soto, 4-Karen Torres (14-Esmerelda Ortiz, 15), 5-Julieta Acosta, 6-Mariana Montelongo, 7-Fátima Beltrán (20-Tabata Valdes, 56), 8-Dania Jimenéz (capt.) (19-María Piñon, 65), 9-Vanessa Buso, 10-Alison Esquivel (18-Daniela Félix, 65), 11-Anette Mendoza (16-Noemí Flores, 56)
Subs not used: 12-Ana Vizcaíno, 13-Aolani Godoy, 15-Ximena Zárate, 17-Natalia Lira
Head Coach: Christopher Cuéllar
Statistical Summary: USA / MEX
Shots: 14 / 4
Shots on Goal: 9 / 3
Saves: 3 / 5
Corner Kicks: 5 / 0
Fouls: 5 / 4
Offside: 1 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
None
