SAINT LUCIA has been crowned champions of the Under 15 CONCACAF Boys Division 2 Football Championship, following a hard fought and determined 3 – 1 victory over Puerto Rico in Miami on Saturday 11th August 2019.
Both teams entered the finals with no losses to their name, however, while Saint Lucia won all their games Puerto Rico ended up drawing one of theirs.
From the opening whistle Saint Lucia went on the offensive and was soon rewarded with the opening goal following a scorching right booter by DaneoCaroo in the 4th minute of play.
However, against the run of play Puerto Rico capitalised on a goalkeeping blunder which resulted in Jensen Cruz pouncing on the loose ball to slot it into the far right hand corner to equalize in the 15th minute.
Despite Puerto Rico enjoying the better of the exchanges and both teams being presented with scoring opportunities the half ended 1 – 1.
On the resumption Saint Lucia made some substitutions to telling effect and it was no surprise when Damanii Berthier got on the scorecard with a well-placed right booter in the 62nd minute.
Saint Lucia kept pressing forward and their determination paid off with Berthier scoring his brace in the 70 + 2 minute of play pouncing on a loose ball following a goal keeping error to seal the initiative 3 – 1.
The victory marks the team’s eleventh consecutive winning streak dating back from 2018. In the process the team has beaten Puerto Rico three times and the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua once. Indeed significant achievements.
Winning the championship does not mean that the team will be promoted; however, they will now be higher ranked as a youth team going forward, which means tougher opponents.
Meanwhile, team Saint Lucia competing at their first outing at the CFU Girls Under 14 Challenge had to settle for second place following their match up against host Cayman Islands on Saturday 10th August 2019.
In the final preliminary group match Saint Lucia’s youngest player Jerddel Emery shot the team into the lead in the 16th minute of play, as the half ended 1 – 0 in favour of Saint Lucia.
However, on the resumption Ashlyn Evans gave Cayman Islands the equalizer in the 42nd minute of play.
No further goals were scored as the game ended 1 – 1. Both teams ended the tournament with five points and five goals. However, Cayman by virtue of a better goal difference three to Saint Lucia’s one ended up topping the group.
At the end of the Tournament the goal scorers for Saint Lucia were Fregeanne Joseph 2, with 1 each from Armicka Louis, Harmonie Jones and Jerddel Emery.
All in all the girls gave a good account of themselves and must be complimented for a fine showing in their first outing.