Nicole Araya booked Costa Rica’s ticket to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday, striking for a pair of goals to open extra time and lifting her team to a 7-3 win over Trinidad & Tobago in the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship’s match for third place at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.
T&T was less than 20 minutes away from becoming the first Caribbean side to qualify for a FIFA Women’s World Cup at any level, when the Central Americans started a rally to recover from a two-goal deficit, scoring six unanswered goals.
Araya broke a 3-3 deadlock in the 94th minute, when a right-sided cross from Noelle Sanz bounced in the penalty area, allowing the unmarked Saprissa forward to blast home from 12-yards out.
Two minutes later, the 19-year-old athletically threw herself at a Michelle Rodriguez corner kick to volley brilliantly off the hands of goalkeeper Keri Myers and into the upper-left corner.
In the 115th minute, Katheryn Arroyo netted neatly with the outside of her right foot after being released on a telling through ball to make it 6-3.
Mariana Benavidez completed the scoreline seconds into stoppage time with a dazzling free kick from 45-yards out that found the upper-left corner with exquisite accuracy.
It was a stunning reversal for the Soca Princesses, who did extremely well to carve out a 3-1 lead by half-time.
Anique Walker scored the first of her two goals in the 16th minute to give T&T a 1-0 lead. Shenelle Henry latched on to a Khadidra Debesette effort and alertly dropped the ball back for the 18-year-old to left-foot past diving goalkeeper Mariela Vasquez from 15-yards out.
T&T continued to look dangerous and shortly after Patrice Campbell hit the outside of the left post, Walker netted again in the 28th minute. This time, the Central FC forward headed a free kick lofted into the box by Jonelle Warrick off Vasquez’s fingertips and into the net.
Costa Rica got on the scoreboard in the 33rd minute. The outstanding Melissa Herrera charged into the right side of the T&T box and directed the ball towards goal after the sprawling Myers impeded it with her hands. Warrick made a block four yards from goal, only to give inadvertently possession back to Herrera. The 17-year-old placed the ball easily inside the near post.
Four minutes before the break, Khadisha Debesette restored the two-goal cushion with one of the strikes of the tournament. Benavidez cleared the ball out of her box directly to Debesette. Without reluctance and with perfect technique, the defender slammed it from 28-yards out just underneath the crossbar.
Yesmi Rodriguez started the Costa Rican comeback in the 71st minute with her third goal of the competition. Initially miskicking a punched cross by Myers, she lobbed the second attempt over the stranded goalkeeper and inside the left post from 17-yards out.
The Ticas levelled the score at 3-3 with five minutes left in normal time. A pass was floated near the edge of the T&T penalty area and took a roguish backspin. The ball ended up on the foot of Michelle Montero, who slammed it into the back of the net.
Costa Rica qualified for its second U-20 Women’s World Cup and first since 2010.
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Soca Princesses collapse - World Cup dreams crash at final hurdle
T&T Guardian
T&T’s dream of becoming the first team to represent the Caribbean at the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup came to bitter end in the Cayman Islands, yesterday, when the Soca Princesses suffered a heartbreaking 7-3 defeat in overtime to Costa Rica in the third-place play-off of the Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship.
This was a result of a tired second-half performance from the team which closed the first half with a 3-1 lead. In fact, the T&T team which stormed to a two-goal lead by the half-hour mark, courtesy of a classy brace from Anique Walker, before she drifted out of the match, showed signs of slowing down. Khadisha Debesette, did, however, score the goal of the match, a blistering effort midway into the Costa Rica half, but it seemed only to invite a more determined response from Costa Rica.
Without taking too many risks, Costa Rica patiently capitalised against a tired looking T&T, who ran out of steam in the last 20 minutes of regulation time.
Costa Rica pulled a second goal back in the 71st minute from Yesmi Rodriguez Talavera, at which point a total collapse was imminent.
Second-half substitute Michelle Montero beat on a messy T&T defence with four minutes left to take the match into extra-time.
Another second-half substitute Nicole Araya Munoz scored two simple goals in the first half of overtime, before Katheryn Arroyo and Benavidez Arguedas put the match to rest with one item each in the closing moments. T&T never looked likely to reply to Costa Rica’s second-half efforts as most plays were broken down in the final third of the pitch, unlike that from T&T’s energetic showing in the first half-hour.
As a result of its deserved victory, Costa Rica joined finalists, USA and Mexico as the teams to represent Concacaf in August’s 2014 Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada. The two finalists were in action in the second match which concluded after press time last evening.
Third place play-off result, Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship
Costa Rica 7 (Daphne Herrera Monge 34th, Yesmi Rodriguez Talavera 71st, Michelle Montero 86th, Nicole Araya Munoz 94th, 96th, Katheryn Arroyo 115th, Benavidez Arguedas 120th+1) v T&T 3 (Anique Walker 16th, 28th, Khadisha Debesette 42nd)
Teams:
Trinidad & Tobago: Keri Myers; Khadisha Debesette, Otisha David, Daniella Findley, Jonelle Warrick, Liana Hines, Brianna Ryce, Patrice Campbell (Donika Murray 75th), Khadidra Debisette, Anique Walker, Shenelle Henry.
Costa Rica: Mariela Fuentes; Mariana Benavidez Arguedas, Michelle Rodriguez Mendoza, Raquel Matarrita, Yesmi Rodriguez Talavera, Noelle Sanz Cale, Viviana Chinchilla, Gloriana Vega, Krista Chavarria Hernandez (Michelle Montero 47th), Daphne Herrera Monge, Jazmin Elizondo Villalobos (Nicole Araya Munoz 67th).
T&T U-20s let 2-0 lead slip to lose 7-3
T&T Express
HEARTBREAK
FOUR extra-time goals gave Costa Rica a come-from-behind 7-3 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in the third place playoff at the 2014 Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship last night at Truman Bodden Sports Complex in the Cayman Islands.
Substitutes Nicole Araya (94th, 96th) scored twice, Katheryn Arroyo (115th minute) got another and Mariana Benavidez (120th minute) struck a long-range free-kick, all in extra-time, as Costa Rica rallied to beat a dead tired Trinidad and Tobago team, which held a 2-0 lead in the first half.
The Caribbean team was just five minutes away from qualifying for a FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time, when another Costa Rican substitute, Michelle Montero, capitalised on a defensive slip and put a low shot past T&T keeper Keri Myers in the 85th minute to end the regulation period in a 3-3 draw.
Costa Rica join already qualified United States and Mexico, who played the final later last night. A semi-finalist for the first time, Trinidad and Tobago finished fourth.
Led by two first half goals from captain Anique Walker, the T&T Soca Princesses led 3-1 at the half before Costa Rica rallied forcefully.
Walker (16th, 28th) gave Trinidad and Tobago a two-goal advantage in the first half hour, before right midfielder Daphne Herera took advantage of Jonelle Warrick’s weak clearance to pull Costra Rica back in the match at 2-1 in the 34th minute.
After a period of Costa Rica domination, the tide shifted again when T&T midfielder Khadisha Debesette beat Costa Rica keeper Mareiela Vasquez in the 42nd minute to make it 3-1 with a dipping volley from outside the penalty area.
Both Walker and Debesette were members of the Trinidad and Tobago team which hosted the 2010 Under-17 World Cup. Trinidad and Tobago had never previously reached a Concacaf age-group women’s semi-final.
Defender Yesmi Rodriguez later found the far corner on the second attempt to pull Costa Rica closer at 3-2 in the 71st minute, before Montero tied the match at 3-3.
With Costa Rica in full flight, Araya netted from inside the penalty area for a 4-3 lead in the 94th minute and two minutes later found the corner with a speculative chip to the top corner.
Physically imposing over their opponents, Trinidad and Tobago dominated the opening quarter-hour, despite surviving an early Costa Rica chance in the 10th minute through Gloriana Villalobos, who shrugged off T&T left-back Daniella Findlay, but could not pick out a teammate.
T&T took the lead when Walker found the corner with a low shot after being set up by right midfielder Shennel Henry and got her second when powerfully heading in a cross into the box, despite keeper Vasquez getting a touch.
Between Walker’s goals, T&T’s Patrice Campbell shaved the foot of the post with a low shot after stealing the ball from a defender.
Herera got Costa Rica closer at 2-1 by getting past both Findlay and goalkeeper Myers, but only scored when Warrick’s weak clearance went straight back at the Costa Rican attacker.
The Soca Princesses, though, were back in front again when Debesette’s 22-metre volley spectacularly dipped into the top of the net.
Costa Rica pressed early in the second half and forced a couple of good saves from T&T keeper Myers.
Trinidad and Tobago came close to scoring again when Campbell had a low shot cleared off the line by Raquel Matarrita in the 63rd minute with the Costa Rica keeper beaten.
Rodriguez and Montero then got late goals against a tiring Trinidad and Tobago squad to tie the match.
Costa Rica dominated the later stages against a very tired T&T team.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: 1-Keri Myers; 8-Daniella Findley (10-Tsaianne Leander 112th), 14-Otisha David, 17-Jonelle Warrwick, 11-Khadidra Debesette , 6-Khadisha Debesette (7- Akilah Sparks, 57th), 3-Liana Hines, 9-Patrice Campbell (15 -Donika Murray, 75th), 4-Brianna Ryce, 13-Shenelle Henry, 19-Anique Walker (capt.)
Subs: 2-Tkeyah Phillips, 12-Shanisa Camejo ,7-Akilah Sparks,18-Emma Abdul, 15-Donika Murray, 10-Tsaianne Leander, 20-Tenesha Palmer, 16-Summer Arjoon, 82)
Head Coach: Izler Browne