Jamaica’s young Reggae Girlz concluded their participation in the Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship in the Dominican Republic with a triumphant performance, securing a 4-1 victory over Panama at the Estadio Panamericano in Santo Domingo on Tuesday.
This win arrived two days after the Reggae Girlz were eliminated from contention for the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, following a 4-0 defeat against the United States.
In their final Group A preliminary round match, Jamaica enjoyed a very strong first half, with Natoya Atkinson breaking the deadlock in the 16th minute, followed by goals from Davia Richards in the 32nd minute and MayaRaghunandanan in the 37th minute for a 3-0 lead ead at halftime.
Jamaica then extended the advantage to 4-0 in the 74th minute courtesy of Amelia Van Zanten.
Panama would not go home empty-handed, though, as Meredith Rosas scored in the 79th minute for the Canaleras to complete the 4-1 scoreline.
In the final match of Group A, Ally Sentnor scored a pair of goals to help pace the United States to a 5-2 victory over Canada.
The U.S. finish the group in first place and will face Costa Rica in the semifinals, while second place Canada will meet Mexico.
Jamaica finished third with three points from their three games.
Madeline Dahlien gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute before Sentnor scored her first in the 11th minute for a 2-0 lead.
Gisele Thompson then scored right before the halftime whistle to hand the U.S. a 3-0 advantage at the break, but Canada would answer shortly after the restart through Amanda Allen in the 54th minute.
The joy was short-lived for the Canadians though, as Sentnor tallied her second in the 55th minute to restore the three-goal advantage for the U.S.
Onyeka Gamero extended it to 5-1 in the 61st minute, followed by Nyah Rose scoring for Canada in the 67th minute to complete the 5-2 scoreline.
The winners of the semifinals and the third-place match will secure their spots in the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
