U20 Girlz ease past St Vincent
Published:Friday | February 21, 2025 | 12:10 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
The U20 Reggae Girlz opened their Concacaf Women’s U20 Qualifiers campaign with a comfortable 7-0 win over St Vincent and the Grenadines yesterday at the National Football Stadium in Managua, Nicaragua.
A hat-trick from Alyssa Stephenson (14th, 45th, 59th) led the way for the young Girlz as Avery Johnson (24th), Maya Raghunandanan (28th), Jaileah McPherson (41st), and Andrene Smith (44th) all added their names to the scoresheet.
Jamaica controlled much of the game from kick-off and came close to opening the scoring early in the contest when Una Lue showed some brilliant handiwork down the right wing.
Lue outmuscled one defender and rounded another but saw her resulting shot tipped over the bar by Vincentian goalkeeper G-Riesa Joseph.
Jamaica would break the deadlock soon after when Stephenson’s determined run paid dividends as she used her pace to outstrip her markers and finished low at the near post.
Johnson doubled the lead in the 24th minute as she received the ball on top of the box and skipped past one defender before firing past the goalkeeper.
Raghunandanan then put the team three goals up just four minutes later in a show of skill.
The midfielder spun her marker with a quick move and opened the space to let loose a low-driven effort through a crowd of defenders just outside the box.
GOAL
Captain McPherson piled on the pressure minutes away from the halftime whistle when she converted a free kick with a rocket of an effort that flew into the roof of the net.
Smith poked home the game’s fifth goal in the 44th minute before Stephenson got her second of the game in time added, putting the Girlz six goals up heading into the halftime break.
Jamaica would see their goalscoring form slow to a near halt in the second half, with their only goal coming at the hour mark as Stephenson bagged her hat-trick to seal all three points.
The Reggae Girlz will next play St Kitts and Nevis on Saturday before completing the group stages against hosts Nicaragua on Monday.
The winners of the group will join the USA and Mexico in the Concacaf Women’s U20 Championships where they will compete for a spot in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.