Preview: U-17 WNT Takes on Bermuda in Second Game of 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship

U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team vs. Bermuda
2018 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship – Group B
National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua
10:00 p.m. ET (go90.com)
April 22, 2018

U-17 WNT CONTINUES WCQ QUEST VS. BERMUDA: After a dominant 4-0 win over Costa Rica on Friday night, the U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team will continue the 2018 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship on Sunday, April 22 against Bermuda (10:00 p.m. ET; go90).

It will be the first-ever meeting between the USA and Bermuda in women’s soccer at any level. Three header goals -- from Payton Linnhean, Kennedy Wesley and Sophia Jones -- highlighted the USA’s opening victory. It was a bumpy start for Bermuda in its first-ever match at this competition as the Gombey Warriors fell 3-0 to Canada.

Sunday’s match will be broadcast live on go90. Follow the U-17 WNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com, Twitter (@ussoccer_ynt) and Instagram (@ussoccer_ynt).

2018 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship - USA Schedule
Date       Match     Result/Kickoff (ET) Broadcast     Venue
April 20       USA vs. Costa Rica                W 5-0                        go90                National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua
April 22       USA vs. Bermuda                  10:00 p.m. go90                National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua
April 24     USA vs. Canada                     10:00 p.m.      go90                National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua

WATCH U-17 WNT QUALIFYING FREE ON GO90: All tournament matches will be streamed via the go90 app and online at go90.com. Watch live in the USA on a mobile device or tablet by downloading the free go90 app on the App Store or Google Play. No registration or authentication is required. Fans can also watch matches free on their laptops at go90.com.

USA VS BERMUDA NOTES

The two countries have never met at the U-17 level and Sunday’s match will mark the first meeting between the USA and Bermuda in women’s soccer at any level.
Bermuda is making its first-ever appearance at this tournament.
The USA is 8-0-0 all-time against Caribbean teams at this competition, scoring 70 goals while allowing just two

GROUP B STANDINGS AND RESULTS

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
USA	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	3
Canada	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	3
Bermuda	1	0	1	0	0	3	-3	0
Costa Rica	1	0	1	0	0	4	-4	0

Date               Match                                    Result             Venue
April 20           Bermuda vs. Canada             0-3                  National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua
April 20           USA vs. Costa Rica                W 4-0             National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua

ROARING START: The USA dominated Costa Rica in its first Group B match and registered a 4-0 victory to open World Cup qualifying. Early pressure from the young Americans resulted in a fourth-minute own goal to open the scoring. Payton Linnehan doubled the lead in the 15th minute with a beautifully-placed header off of a cross from Samantha Meza. Linnehan continued to impress all night with some slippery moves on the dribble.

In the second half, two corner kicks turned into two more U.S. goals. U-17 veterans Kate Wiesner and Kennedy Wesley combined for the first in the 60th minute. Wiesner served a corner into the box and Wesley rose up to head it home for her first-ever U-17 goal in 29 caps. Sophia Jones provided an exclamation point in the 79th minute when she got her head on a Sunshine Fontes corner and looped it past the goalkeeper to give the USA its fourth and final goal. The red, white and blue didn’t allow a single shot from Costa Rica over the full 90 minutes.

BERMUDA BATTLES CANADA: Making its first appearance at the tournament, Bermuda fell 3-0 to Canada in the first match of Friday’s doubleheader. The Canadians overmatched Bermuda with a barrage of attempts on goal, outshooting them 30 to three, but the islanders were likely pleased to have allowed just three goals.

U.S. U-17 WNT Concacaf Qualifying Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Angelina Anderson (Mustang FC; Danville, Calif.; 9/0), 12-Julia Dohle (New York City FC; Scarsdale, N.Y.; 2/0)
DEFENDERS (6): 19-Michela Agresti (FC Stars, Swampscott, Mass.; 10/2), 4-Talia DellaPeruta (NTH Tophat; Cumming, Ga.; 17/1), 14-Smith Hunter (Seattle Reign Academy; Seattle, Wash.; 10/0), 2-Makenna Morris (Bethesda SC; Germantown, Md.; 12/1), 15-Natalia Staude (NTH Tophat; Atlanta, Ga.; 12/0), 5-Kennedy Wesley (So Cal Blues; Rossmoor, Calif.; 29/1)
MIDFIELDERS (6): 17-Hannah Bebar (Eclipse Select SC; Naperville, Ill.; 8/1), 9-Croix Bethune (Concorde Fire; Alpharetta, Ga.; 19/7), 11-Maya Doms (Davis Legacy; Davis, Calif.; 17/6), 10-Mia Fishel (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.; 19/2), 20-Sophia Jones (San Jose Earthquakes; Menlo Park, Calif.; 10/1), 6-Astrid Wheeler (Concorde Fire; Atlanta, Ga.; 14/1)
FORWARDS (6): 18-Sunshine Fontes (Hawaii Rush; Wahiawa, Hawaii; 20/13), 13-Samantha Kroeger (World Class FC; West Milford, N.J.; 4/1), 16-Payton Linnehan (FC Stars; Douglas, Mass.; 18/7), 7-Samantha Meza (Solar SC; Dallas, Texas; 13/2), 8-Diana Ordoñez (FC Dallas; Prosper, Texas; 4/0), 3-Kate Wiesner (LAFC Slammers; Monrovia, Calif.; 30/3)

Bermuda Roster (Club)
GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Gaiya Melakot (Berkeley), 1-Zakhari Turner (Montverde/USA)
DEFENDERS (6): 16-Delia Ebbin (Darlington Academy/USA); 2-Koa Goodchild (Saltus), 4-Zekiah Lewis (St. Johnsbury/USA), 18-Jenna Rempel (Choate Hall/USA), 6-Danni Watson (Saltus); 3-Zemira Webb (Warwick Academy)
MIDFIELDERS (9): 7-Sh'Nyah Atkinstall (Berkeley), 20-Druw Bascome (Cedarbridge), 14-Emily Cabral (TN Tatem Warwick), 5-Trinae Edwards (Cedarbridge), 8-Katelyn MederIos (BHS), 10-Leilanni Nesbeth (Bedes/ENG), 19-Dazarre Place (Berkeley), 17-Jya Ratteray Smith (Berkeley), 15-Jadae Steede Hill (Berkeley)
FORWARDS (4): 9-Nia Christopher (John Carroll/USA), 11-Adia Gibbons (Berkeley), 13-Tianna Mullan (IMG Academy/USA)

RUN-UP TO NICARAGUA: It’s been a successful start to the cycle for the U-17s, as they arrived in Managua with a 16-1-4 international record since the start of the cycle last April. Entering the tournament, the U-17s stood at 7-0-1 in 2018, scoring 32 goals while allowing just two.

In preparation for this year’s World Cup qualifying tournament, the USA has taken on 12 different countries, including fixtures against Concacaf rivals Canada, Haiti and Mexico. The team’s lone cycle defeat came in a barnburner 5-4 loss to China, while trophies have been won while playing against the likes of England and Italy at the Torneo Femminile delle Nazioni in Italy and Slovenia as well as at the Copa Provincia de Buenos Aires against a trio of South American squads. Most recently, the USA went undefeated in a three-game set against World Cup-bound Japan in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

Players born on or after January 1, 2001 are eligible for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Head coach Mark Carr’s 20-player roster includes 16 players born in 2001 and four born in 2002.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship, and the sixth edition of the tournament. Launched in 2008 to qualify teams for the newly established FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the regional championship sends three teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean to the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay. The top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals, and the winners of those two matches, plus the third-place game winner, punch their World Cup tickets. Group A features first-time participant and host Nicaragua, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The USA was drawn into Group B, alongside first-time participant Bermuda, Canada and Costa Rica.

GROUP A STANDINGS AND RESULTS

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
Mexico	1	1	0	0	8	0	+8	3
Haiti	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	3
Puerto Rico	1	0	1	0	1	4	-3	0
Nicaragua	1	0	1	0	0	8	-8	0

Date               Match                                    Result             Venue
April 19           Puerto Rico vs. Haiti              1-4                  National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua
April 19           Nicaragua vs. Mexico            0-8                  National Football Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua

MORE ABOUT THE U-17 WNT ON ussoccer.com

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