USA tops Group A at CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship with 10-0 win over Guatemala

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team topped Group A at the CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship on Monday with a 10-0 victory against Guatemala – the USA’s largest win at this tournament since 2004. The USA will face either Mexico or Trinidad in the semifinals, which kick off Friday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Soccer 2GO.

The winner of the two semifinal matches and the third-place match on Jan. 19 qualify for the 2014 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Forward McKenzie Meehan scored three goals to lead the way for the U.S. – the second hat trick of the tournament for the Americans after Lindsey Horan notched three in the opening match against Costa Rica. She was followed on the score sheet by U-20 WNT debutant Mallory Weber, who scored two second-half goals after coming on as a sub for Savannah Jordan, who scored the USA’s final goal of the first half on a penalty kick.

Stephanie Amack, Brittany Basinger, Rachel Hill and Margaret Purce also tallied goals for the USA, with Hill also contributing four assists as she pulled the strings from the attacking midfield spot for a relentless American attack.

Guatemala did not record a shot in the match as Jane Campbell, making her first start of the tournament in goal for the USA, and defenders Laura Liedle, Cari Roccaro, Katie Naughton, who captained the side for the evening, Maddie Bauer, Brittany Basinger and Lauren Kaskie kept the team’s third straight clean sheet.

An early pair of chances for Jordan in the opening five minutes signaled the USA’s intent, before Meehan opened the scoring in the eighth minute. A corner kick from Morgan Andrews pinged around the Guatemala penalty area before falling to Hill, who chipped the ball to the far post where Meehan put a one-time half-volley past goalkeeper Yoselin Franco.

The USA was not afraid to unleash shots from long range with Andrews going closest in the 20th minute. Her shot went narrowly wide of Franco’s right post. Two minutes later Andrews served a solid corner kick into the heart of the Guatemala box where Amack rose highest to power home her first goal of the tournament.

A minute past the half-hour mark, Hill hit a shot from the top of the box on goal, but Franco spilled a rebound into the path of a crashing Basinger, who slotted her shot home with her left foot from a tight angle on the left side. The first international goal for the left back put the USA up 3-0.

Purce set up the final goal of the half with a slaloming run through the Guatemala defense, before she was brought down in the box by Celeste Gatica in the 38th minute. Jordan ripped the ensuing penalty kick into the right upper corner of the net to give the Americans a 4-0 lead at the break.

When the second half got underway, Maddie Bauer replaced Katie Naughton on the back line while Weber was inserted up front in place of Jordan.

Only three minutes after the restart, Liedle was hauled down on a corner kick and Hill stepped up to bury the second PK of the game in the 48th minute for her first international goal and a 5-0 USA lead.

Six minutes later, Purce dashed into the Guatemala box to steal a back pass off Franco’s feet. Before the goalkeeper could recover, Purce swiveled and rolled home her first U-20 international goal, and in doing so, became the 60th different all-time U.S. goal scorer at the tournament.

Meehan made it 7-0 in the 57th minute, taking a feed from Weber and picking out the top shelf of Franco’s net.

Weber bagged the next two goals on smart finishes off feeds from Hill and Meehan in the 61st and 67th minutes, respectively.

Meehan capped the scoring in the 74th minute after a slick square ball into the box from Hill helped give the striker her hat trick and cemented the final 10-0 score line in favor of the young Americans.

Additional Notes :

• The USA rested a few regular starters as goalkeeper Jane Campbell made her first start of the tournament for the USA, while Stephanie Amack, Laure Liedle, Midge Purce and McKenzie Meehan also were handed their first starts of the competition.
• The USA is now 28-2-1 all-time in the CONCACAF U-19/U-20 Championship and holds a 13-game winning streak dating back to the opener of the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship in Guatemala.
• During that 13-game span, the USA has scored 58 goals and allowed three.
• All 20 players on the roster have now seen action in the tournament with Campbell, midfielder Lauren Kaskie, Liedle and forward Mallory Weber getting their first run-outs against Guatemala.
• Only center back Cari Roccaro has played all 270 minutes of the tournament so far.
• Roccaro, who is in her second U-20 cycle, is the most-capped player at this level with 25 games played.
• Ten U.S. players have shared the USA’s 19 goals scored in the tournament so far (which also includes an own goal from Costa Rica): Meehan (4), Horan (3), Jordan (3), Weber (2), Amack (1), Basinger (1), Green (1), Hill (1), Purce (1) and Sullivan (1).
• Basinger, Bauer, Hill, Jordan, Kaskie and Weber were all looking for their first U-20 cap heading into the tournament. With Kaskie and Weber seeing the field against Guatemala, all six have now earned their first cap at this level.
• Stephanie Amack’s goal was her first at the U-20 level.
• Naughton is the oldest player on the roster as she will turn 20 in February.
• Purce is the first player from Harvard to make a U.S. WNT qualifying roster. She was the Ivy League Player and Rookie of the Year. She led the Ivy League in shots and tied for the lead in goals with 11.
• U.S. right back Sullivan wore the captain’s armband against Jamaica and regular U.S. captain Roccaro wore it against Costa Rica in the first match. Against Guatemala, Naughton became the third different player to captain the side in this tournament.
• The 10-0 win was the fifth time the USA has scored double-digit goals in the U-19/U-20 qualifying tournament. It was the most lopsided victory since the team’s 11-1 win against Trinidad & Tobago on May 30, 2004, in the 2004 CONCACAF U-19 Qualifying Tournament; It was USA’s largest-ever win since the tournament moved from U-19s to U-20s in 2006.
• Costa Rica follows the USA out of Group A after earning a hard-fought 1-1 draw that eliminated Jamaica in Monday’s early match.

-U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team Match Report-

Match: U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team vs. Guatemala
Date: Jan. 13, 2014
Competition: CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship – Group A
Venue: Truman Bodden Sports Complex; George Town, Cayman Islands
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: 1,479
Weather: 79 degrees, humid

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 4 6 10
GUA 0 0 0

USA – McKenzie Meehan (Rachel Hill) 8th minute
USA – Stephanie Amack (Morgan Andrews) 22
USA – Brittany Basinger (Rachel Hill) 31
USA – Savannah Jordan (penalty kick) 39
USA – Rachel Hill (penalty kick) 48
USA – Margaret Purce 54
USA – McKenzie Meehan (Mallory Weber) 57
USA – Mallory Weber (Rachel Hill) 61
USA – Mallory Weber (McKenzie Meehan) 67
USA – McKenzie Meehan (Rachel Hill) 74

Lineups:
USA: 18-Jane Campbell; 10-Laura Liedle, 3-Cari Roccaro, 20-Katie Naughton (capt.) (2-Maddie Bauer, 46), 4-Brittany Basinger (8-Lauren Kaskie, 61); 7-Morgan Andrews, 16-Stephanie Amack, 14-Rachel Hill; 15-Margaret Purce, 11-McKenzie Meehan, 13-Savannah Jordan (12-Mallory Weber, 46)
Subs Not Used: 1-Katelyn Rowland, 5-Summer Green, 9-Lindsey Horan, 10-Laura Liedle, 17-Rose Lavelle, 19-Andi Sullivan
Head Coach: Michelle French

GUA: 1-Yoselin Franco; 3-Darlin Sermeño, 2-Lisbeth Mazarigos, 5-Sara Fetzer (11-Leslie Rosales, 88), 6-Jeniffer Barrios, 7-Alida Argueta, 13-Barbara Ramirez (9-Mia Espino, 46), 19-Celeste Gatica, 14-Aisha Solorzano, 15-Lauren Markwith, 8-Yoselin Sanchez
Subs Not Used: 4-Megly Ordoñez, 10-Vivian Herrera, 12-Estefani Rosales, 16-Yuvitza Mayen, 17-Madelyn Ventura, 18-Gabriela Rodriguez, 20-Stephanie Rodriguez
Head Coach: Benjamin Monterroso

Stats Summary: USA / GUA
Shots: 29 / 0
Shots on Goal: 19 / 0
Saves: 0 / 9
Corner Kicks: 9 / 1
Fouls: 6 / 4
Offside: 5 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Savannah Jordan (caution) 17th minute

Officials:
Referee: Melissa Borjas (HON)
Assistant Referee 1: Mayte Chavez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Wendy Fisher (CAY)
4th Official: Irazema Aguilar (CUB)

ussoccer.com Woman of the Match: Rachel Hill