USA opens Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship with 20-0 win over Grenada

SAN CRISTÓBAL, Dominican Republic – The U.S. U-17 Women’s Youth National Team opened its World Cup Qualifying campaign at the 2022 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship with a 20-0 victory against Grenada that set a record for most goals in a single World Cup qualifying match for a U.S. Women’s National Team at any level.

Led by four-goal performances from midfielders Shae Harvey and Charlotte Kohler plus a hat trick from forward Melina Rebimbas, the USA scored nine goals in the first half and 11 in the second.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which put U.S. Soccer’s Youth National Team programming on hold for a long stretch, this game marked the first U-17 international match for every U.S. player who stepped on the field.

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The USA looked sharp in the attack in the opening minutes, creating a series of dangerous chances early on before Rebimbas opened the floodgates in the eighth. The USA doubled the lead just three minutes later as Harvey scored her first of the night with a volley from close range before defender Mia Oliaro added her first of two goals in the 17th minute.

The team displayed a lethal touch in its attacking play from the wings, scoring three goals in the span of 10 minutes beginning in the 20th, which included Kohler’s first of the night and two from Harvey. Forward Nicollette Kiorpes scored her lone goal of the night in the 34th minute before Rebimbas tallied her second just one minute later. An own goal from Grenada in the 43rd minute gave the USA a 9-0 lead heading into the break after a first 45which was played in mostly pouring rain.

The USA’s day was far from over as Kohler opened the second half with two goals to round out her hat trick in the 48th and 49th minutes before Rebimbas completed her own in the 55th with a strike from 15 yards out. In the 59th, Harvey scored her fourth of the night as the team tied the previous record for most goals scored in a U-17 World Cup qualifier with its 13th of the night. Just one minute later, Oliaro did the honors of breaking the record with a one-touch shot from six yards out. Four minutes later, center back Cameron Roller added her name to the score sheet.

A handful of USA substitutions proceeded to make their mark on the game as midfielder Claire Hutton scored a brace with goals in the 71st and in stoppage time, while midfielder Lauren Martinho, and forward Amalia Villareal added goals in the 76th and 81st minutes, respectively. Kohler then rounded out the night in the second minute of stoppage time with a strong effort to shield off her defender and bury a powerful strike off the goalkeeper’s gloves and across the line for the team’s remarkable 20th goal.

The win also marks the first for Natalia Astrain, who was appointed as U-17 USWYNT head coach on Nov. 17, 2021 and was coaching in her first U-17 international match.

The U-17 WYNT continues Group G play on Monday, April 25 against Puerto Rico (4 p.m. / FS2, ViX App in Spanish) at Estadio Panamericano and finishes the first round on Wednesday, April 27 vs. Costa Rica (4 p.m. / FS2, ViX App in Spanish) at Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo.

Follow the U-17 WNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:

USA – Melina Rebimbas (Onyeka Gamero), 8th minute – Gamero received the ball on the right flank and dribbled into the box, avoiding two defenders with nifty footwork before poking the ball toward Rebimbas near the penalty spot. From there, she buried a low, right-footed shot from 12 yards out. USA 1, GRN 0

USA – Shae Harvey (Mia Oliaro), 11th minute – Oliaro collected the ball on the right inside the penalty box following a clean tackle from a Grenada defender and sent a cross toward the far-post where Harvey connected with a right-footed volley from six yards out to double the lead. USA 2, GRN 0

USA – Mia Oliaro, 17th minute – Oliaro picked up the ball at the top of the box near the right side after a dispossession from Granada and fired a powerful left-footed shot from about 20 yards out to beat the ‘keeper high and into the center of the goal. USA 3, GRN 0

USA – Charlotte Kohler (Shae Harvey), 21st minute – A run of play up the wing concluded with Harvey finding the end of a through-ball near the end line and cutting back a low cross toward the heart of the box which Kohler finished on her first touch from about 10 yards out. USA 4, GRN 0

USA – Shae Harvey (Onyeka Gamero), 26th minute – Oliaro played Gamero out on the right wing and she sent in a cross deep into the box to Harvey, who finished on her first touch from about seven yards out. USA 5, GRN 0

USA – Shae Harvey (Charlotte Kohler), 30th minute – Kohler received the ball on the right wing and sent in a cross which Harvey finished with a one-touch right footed volley from seven yards out. USA 6, GRN 0

USA – Nicolette Kiorpes (Onyeka Gamero), 34th minute – Gamero chipped a perfectly weighted ball into the left side of the box to Kiorpes on the run and she finished with a skillful left footed volley from the left corner of the six-yard box. USA 7, GRN 0

USA – Melina Rebimbas, 35th minute – After a USA run up the left wing, the goalkeeper stretched out to deflect a cross coming into the box but accidentally played it straight to Rebimbas’ feet just in front of the penalty spot and she buried a powerful strike. USA 8, GRN 0

USA – Abigail Williams (Own Goal), 43rd minute – Following a run of quality build-up play, Gamero received the ball at the top of the box and dribbled toward goal. Williams attempted to pounce on Gamero’s touch inside the box but accidentally redirected it into her own net. USA 9, GRN 0

USA – Charlotte Kohler (Taylor Suarez), 48th minute – The halftime substitute Suarez worked her way down the left wing and beat a defender with speed to dribble into the box before crossing a low ball into the center of the area which Kohler finished with her left foot from eight yards out. USA 10, GRN 0

USA – Charlotte Kohler, 49th minute – Gamero worked her way up the right flank and sent a cross into the box which deflected off a defender and landed at Kohler’s feet. She turned toward goal and fired back-post with her right foot from 15 yards out to complete her hat trick. USA 11, GRN 0

USA – Melina Rebimbas (Mia Oliaro), 55th minute – Oliaro sent a perfect cross from deep on the right wing to the back post after dribbling past a defender and Rebimbas finished calmly with her left foot from one yard out. USA 12, GRN 0

USA – Shae Harvey (Taylor Suarez), 59th minute – Oliaro played Suarez through on the left side. Suarez crossed the ball into the box and Harvey finished from about 10 yards out to tally her fourth of the night. USA 13, GRN 0

USA – Mia Oliaro (Nicola Fraser), 60th minute – Fraser took on three defenders with a slithery dribble on the left wing and crossed the ball across the mouth of goal to find Oliaro near the corner of the six-yard box. From there, she finished with a one-touch shot. USA 14, GRN 0

USA – Cameron Roller (Melina Rebimbas), 64th minute – Following a corner kick and a flicked on header from Rebimbas, Roller pounced the loose ball at at the edge of the six-yard box and she fired ball off the crossbar and into the back of the net first international goal. USA 15, GRN 0

USA – Claire Hutton, 71st minute – A corner kick from Kohler deflected off a defender and out toward Hutton, who fired a low shot from 15 yards out to score her first. USA 16, GRN 0

USA – Lauren Martinho (Cameron Roller), 76th minute – Roller played the ball to Martinho at the top of the box, where she took a touch and fired from 19 yards out, bouncing the ball off the right post and across the goal line. USA 17, GRN 0

USA – Amalia Villareal (Nicola Fraser), 81st minute – Fraser played a long ball over the back line through the middle of the field and Villareal ran past the defense, dribbled into the box and slotted a low shot past the goalkeeper into the right side of the net. USA 18, GRN 0

USA – Claire Hutton (Lauren Martinho), 90+1 minute – Martinho found Hutton inside the box with a low pass. Hutton dribbled past a defender and fired from 12 yards out in the heart of the box to beat the goalkeeper low and to the right. USA 19, GRN 0

USA – Charlotte Kohler (Lauren Martinho), 90+3 minute – Martinho played Kohler inside the box, where she battled with a defender to shield the ball and fire a powerful strike that bounced off the ‘keeper’s gloves and into the net in the dying moments of the match. USA 20, GRN 0

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• The match marks the first time that three different players have scored three or more goals in a single USWNT match at any age level, and just the fifth time that two different players have scored three or more goals in a single match at any age level.
• Onyeka Gamero led the team with three assists while Lauren Martinho, Mia Oliaro, and Taylor Suarez tallied two assists a piece. Nine different players tallied an assist on the night.
• Goalkeeper Victoria Safradin recorded her first U-17 WYNT clean sheet after making one save on the day of her 17th birthday.
• The match marked the first international match for the U-17 age group in 792 days and the first match in official competition in 1250 days since the pause caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

-U.S. Under-17 Women’s Youth National Team Match Report-

Match: United States Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team vs. Granada
Date: April 23, 2022
Competition: Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship
Venue: Estadio Panamericano; San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
Attendance: 50
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
Weather: 85 degrees, partly cloudy, intermittent heavy rain

Scoring Summary: 1  2  F
USA                          9 11 20
GRN                         0  0  0

USA – Melina Rebimbas (Onyeka Gamero)   8th minute
USA – Shae Harvey (Mia Oliaro)                    11
USA – Mia Oliaro                                            17
USA – Charlotte Kohler (Shae Harvey)           21
USA – Shae Harvey (Onyeka Gamero)           26
USA – Shae Harvey (Charlotte Kohler)            30
USA – Nicollette Kiorpes (Oneyka Gamero)     34
USA – Melina Rebimbas                                   35
USA – Own Goal (Abigail Williams)                   43
USA – Charlotte Kohler (Taylor Suarez)            48
USA – Charlotte Kohler                                      49
USA – Melina Rebimbas (Mia Oliaro)                 55
USA – Shae Harvey (Taylor Suarez)                  59
USA – Mia Oliaro (Nicola Fraser)                       60
USA – Cameron Roller (Melina Rebimbas)        63
USA – Claire Hutton                                           71
USA – Lauren Martinho (Cameron Roller)         76
USA – Amalia Villareal (Nicole Fraser)               81
USA – Claire Hutton (Lauren Martinho)              90+1
USA – Charlotte Kohler (Taylor Suarez)             90+3

Lineups: 

USA: 12-Victoria Safradin; 6-Mia Oliaro, 2-Nicola Fraser, 4-Cameron Roller, 3-Savannah King (5-Keegan Schmeiser, 46); 10-Mia Bhuta (Capt.), 15-Shae Harvey (19-Lauren Martinho, 63), 8-Charlotte Kohler; 18-Onyeka Gamero (13-Claire Hutton, 63), 14-Melina Rebimbas (16-Amalia Villarreal, 77), 11-Nicollette Kiorpes (9-Taylor Suarez, 46)

Substitutes Not Used: 1-Abigail Gundry, 7-Riley Jackson, 17-Alyssa Gonzalez, 20-Gisele Thompson 

Head Coach: Natalia Astrain

GRN: 12-Kristina Bartholomew (1-Tiara McIntosh, 46); 6-Jadine Baptiste (Capt.), 5-Tiyana Lewis, 15-Kimberly McQueen (14-Monque Noel, 46), 3-Teasia Jones (17-Joshenie Fortune, 85); 10-Melania Fullerton, 19-Nhyela Hillaira (4-Sharleen Francois, 85); 8-Abigail Williams, 16-Javelle Alexander, 13-Cassima Langaigne (20-Shannel Britton, 56); 9-Amelia Bubb

Substitutes not used: 18-Nickada Courtney

Head coach: Randy Boca 

Stats Summary: USA / GRN
Shots: 51 / 2
Shots on Goal: 27 / 1
Saves: 1 / 7
Corner Kicks: 16 / 0
Fouls: 5 / 5
Offside: 8 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
GRN – Abigail Williams (Caution) 53rd minute

Officials:
Referee: Smeedly Saint Jean (HAI)
1st Assistant Referee: Kindria Aguero (CRC)
2nd Assistant Referee: Falone Dieurisma (HAI)
4th Official: Itzel Hernandez (MEX)