US U20 women begin World Cup qualification with 4-0 win

Story courtesy US Soccer Communications

PUEBLA, Mexico (June 18, 2008) – The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team kicked off CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying with a 4-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago at Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla, Mexico. Forward Michelle Enyeart led the way with a hat trick, while Kelly O’Hara also tallied a first-half goal to put the U.S. tied atop Group A.

The U.S. will continue group play on Friday, June 20 against Cuba, who fell 7-0 in their opening match against Mexico. Kickoff for the match, which fans can follow live on ussoccer.com’s Match Tracker, has been moved up an hour earlier to 12 p.m. CT due to the possibility of thunderstorms predicted later in the day. While tied on points with Mexico in Group A after the first day of matches, the U.S. is in second place due to a lower goal differential (+3 to +7), which is the first tie-breaker.

“I was proud of our effort today,” said U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team head coach Tony DiCicco. “I think they had some nerves going into the game as there are always high expectations for a U.S. team. Trinidad & Tobago really defended well, they have great athleticism and they didn’t make it easy for us to get scoring opportunities. I’m proud of the girls. It’s a great way to launch the tournament for us knowing that our task will get more difficult as we move along.”

The U.S. controlled the game from start to finish, but escaped an early mistake when two Trinidad & Tobago players got behind the U.S. defense after a quick restart in the fourth minute. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who did not see much action otherwise, was swift off her line and smothered the ball after Kenya Cordnet took her first touch toward goal.

After the early scare, the U.S. settled down and took over the game, getting on the board in the ninth minute. Alex Morgan, playing in her first-ever international match, received the ball, turned and played a perfect through ball for Enyeart, whose first touch put her around her only defender. Enyeart looked up and slipped the ball past Trinidad & Tobago ‘keeper Kimika Forbes for her first goal of the night.

Enyeart’s second of the night was a culmination of a U.S. possession that began from the back line and moved all the way up field with quick passing around the tightly-packed Trinidad & Tobago defense. In the attacking third, captain Keelin Winters played a ball through two defenders for Enyeart, putting her alone on goal. She calmly touched it past Forbes to double the American’s lead in the 30th minute.

With a relentless attack, the U.S. struck again two minutes later. Kierstan Dallstream pushed forward into the attack from her right back position and swung a ball into the box that skipped off a defender to O’Hara. O’Hara, who is one of two players with Under-20 Women’s World Cup experience along with Casey Nogueira, tapped it in for a 3-0 lead.

Trinidad & Tobago kept fighting on defense, keeping at least 10 players behind the ball to limit the USA’s chances in the second half. Despite the defensive formation, a great individual effort from Enyeart produced her third goal and rounded out the scoring on the night. On the goal, Enyeart intercepted a pass in the T&T defensive half and dribbled around the defender that coughed up the ball. She then split two more defenders on the dribble to get inside the box before slotting the ball to the far post for her hat trick.

“We came out and accomplished what we wanted,” said Enyeart, who increased her team leading goal tally to seven on the year. “We got the result and now we can build from today. At this level three goals isn’t a very big margin of victory so we knew we had to keep attacking. I think scoring in the second half was important for us as we move forward.”

The top two teams from each group will play in the semifinals, and the top three teams in the tournament will advance to the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile. Eleven nations have already qualified for the U-20 World Cup: host Chile; Japan, China and North Korea from Asia; France, Germany, Norway and England from Europe; New Zealand from Oceania; and Brazil and Argentina from South America.

U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team Game Report
Participants: U.S. Under-20 WNT vs. Trinidad & Tobago 
Competition: CONCACAF Under-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying 
Location: Estadio Cuauhtemoc - Pueblo, Mexico 
Date: June 18, 2008 
Weather: Warm, Sunny

Scoring Summary: 
USA – Michelle Enyeart (Alex Morgan)  	9th minute 
USA – Michelle Enyeart (Keelin Winters)  	30. 
USA – Kelly O’Hara (Kiersten Dallstream) 	32. 
USA – Michelle Enyeart                          	76. 

Lineups: 

Misconduct Summary: 
None

Sierra Mist Woman of the Match: Michelle Enyeart