In a semi-final match that went into extra time to decide a winner, Canada was knocked out of the CONCACAF under-20 women’s tournament by Mexico. The lone goal of the match came off a corner by Charlyn Corral in the 104th minute. Mishandled, the ball found a way over the line in the most cruel of ways for keeper Cynthia Leblanc whose stand-out performance was the lone reason Canada still had a chance.
The Mexicans presented a well organized, technically sound and tactically understanding problem our Canadian girls could not overcome.
The final score-line turned out 1 – 0 but in no way was the match even close. Mexico maintained complete domination of the ball, driving Canada’s midfield back deep enough to create a huge, game long gap that made a connection with the forwards difficult. Offensively Canada managed only 4 shots on goal to Mexico’s 11 and gained only 2 corners compared to 7 for Mexico.
Earlier in the day, United States got by Costa Rica in the other semi final 2 – 1. It was a match requiring Costa Rica to abandon their style and chase the Americans at an unaccustomed pace. The ticas hung on, even getting one goal back when they were two down, but in the end, total exhustion kept them from finding another goal.
This will be the first time Canada misses out on the CONCACAF final for this age group, but there is still an opportunity to move on to the world championship this summer in Germany. Our region gets to send three representatives, so the final ticket is at stake Saturday against Costa Rica.
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