Women’s National Soccer Championships

By SOPHIA LI ‘19

On October 4, 2018, the US Women's National Soccer Team geared up for another championship for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Entering the tournament, the US team needs to win this championship in order to solidify its spot in the upcoming 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) will need to play a total of three games and win all three in order to go to the qualifying round for the World Cup. They were set to play Mexico, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago, all of whom have been defeated by the USWNT in the past.  

The USWNT began their qualifying run against a very formidable opponent: Mexico. In the past, Mexico has given the USWNT a hard time offensively and defensively, and has prevented the US team from obtaining an easy win. However, in this year’s qualifying game, Mexico could not respond to the USWNT’s ball movement and possession; the USWNT immediately took possession of the ball at the start of the first half, scoring almost two minutes in. After the first goal, the USWNT went on a roll and ended the game with a decisive 6-0 win over Mexico. Not only did the US do well offensively, but they also dominated defensively, allowing a mere three shots to be taken on the US goal, with only one shot actually being on target. With this dominating win, the USWNT took the first-place spot within their group. In order to remain number one in their group, they had to win their next two games.

After their win against Mexico, the USWNT was ready for any team. Their momentum from their game against Mexico carried over to their next game with Panama. The USWNT displayed exemplary defensive and offensive skills for which the Panama National team was no match; the USWNT ended the game 5-0, with Carli Lloyd getting the first hattrick of the tournament for the US. With the World Cup qualifying spot in sight, the USWNT easily defeated Trinidad and Tobago 7-0, not allowing a single shot to be taken on the US goal by the Trinidadian team. The defeat of Trinidad and Tobago allowed the US to place first in their group and move onto the semifinals against Jamaica. The US and Jamaican teams have only played twice, and both times of those times were in CONCACAF qualifying, according to the United States Soccer Federation. Both times they have played, the US have emerged victorious. However, those victories were in the past, and the teams look very different now. If the US wins, they move onto the finals, securing a spot in the 2019 World Cup.  

The US did not disappoint. They started out very strong with a goal in the second minute from seasoned World Cup veteran Tobin Heath. The USWNT looked like a well-oiled machine, winning the match 6-0. Although Jamaica prevented the US from scoring a goal for the majority of the second half, they could not stop USWNT’s rhythm. However, Jamaica still has an opportunity to qualify for the world cup with a game against Panama.  

Now that the USWNT has won the semifinals, they are preparing for the CONCACAF final against Canada, one of their biggest rivals. Tune in to the game on October 18 to see if how the USWNT fares.

Editor’s Note: The US Women’s team won the CONCACAF final against Canada.