USA U17 marches onto semifinal

<p class="p1">The U.S. U17 Women’s National Team moved one step closer to a spot at the U17 World Cup on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Jamaica in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Concacaf U17 Championship in the Dominican Republic.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="26447" first="Amalia" last="Villarreal"] (Michigan Jaguars) scored her eighth goal of the tournament on a header early in the first half. [player_tooltip player_id="33296" first="Charlotte" last="Kohler"] (MVLA) and [player_tooltip player_id="21915" first="Riley" last="Jackson"] (Concorde Fire) also scored in the opening half. [player_tooltip player_id="24190" first="Melina" last="Rebimbas"] (PDA) came off the bench and scored a goal on her birthday early in the second half.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Jamaica advanced to the quarterfinal game via a 4-0 win over Cuba in the Round of 16. Jamaica finished in second place in Group F and shocked one of the favorites of the event with a 1-1 draw against Canada during group play.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">USA eliminated much hope of an upset on Wednesday with the early header goal from Villarreal. Jamaica struggled to generate much against the dominant US side. It felt like a python squeezing the dream of an upset out of its prey.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">The Jamaica defense and goalkeeper Liya Brooks stood tall against the pressure from the talented USA attack - and kept the game much closer on the scoreboard than it was on the field. Brooks faced over 30 shots during the game. She was credited with 12 saves in the game.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Brooks was previously eligible for the US National Team. She is from Hawaii and holds dual citizenship. She has been scouted by US scouts and was part of the US Club id2 Team that was scheduled to go to England in 2020 before that trip was shut down due to Covid.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">In the past year, she emerged as a star for Jamaica’s youth program and was part of the Jamaica U20 team as well. She is a high school junior and plays her club soccer for Hawaii Surf. Brooks is a recent verbal commit to Washington State.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Brooks’ heroics were not enough on the day, and USA advanced to the semifinal round, to be held on Friday, against the winner of Canada/Costa Rica. The two winners from the semifinal round and the winner of the third place game earn a berth to the World Cup, which will be held in October in India.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">USA Starting XI: [player_tooltip player_id="24616" first="Abby" last="Gundry"], Savannah King, Alyssa Gonzalez, Nicki Fraser, [player_tooltip player_id="33286" first="Gisele" last="Thompson"]; [player_tooltip player_id="21915" first="Riley" last="Jackson"] (C), [player_tooltip player_id="33419" first="Claire" last="Hutton"], [player_tooltip player_id="33296" first="Charlotte" last="Kohler"]; [player_tooltip player_id="25073" first="Taylor" last="Suarez"], [player_tooltip player_id="26447" first="Amalia" last="Villarreal"], [player_tooltip player_id="18947" first="Onyeka" last="Gamero"]<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Substitutes: [player_tooltip player_id="24190" first="Melina" last="Rebimbas"], [player_tooltip player_id="33426" first="Lauren" last="Martinho"], Mia Bhuta, [player_tooltip player_id="24957" first="Mia" last="Oliaro"], [player_tooltip player_id="18953" first="Shae" last="Harvey"]</p> <p class="p1">Scoring summary: [player_tooltip player_id="26447" first="Amalia" last="Villarreal"] (3’), [player_tooltip player_id="33296" first="Charlotte" last="Kohler"] (32’), [player_tooltip player_id="21915" first="Riley" last="Jackson"] (42’), [player_tooltip player_id="24190" first="Melina" last="Rebimbas"] (56’)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>