Lady Jags look to topple Haiti juggernaut
In what is expected to be a difficult assignment, the Lady Jaguars will match skills with powerhouse Haiti today from 16:00hrs in the quarter-final section of the CONCACAF Women’s U20 Football competition at the Estadio Panamericano, San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
The difficulty of the task ahead for the Guyanese, the runners-up in group-D, is highlighted and exemplified by the sheer statistical strength of their foes, Haiti, the runaway victor in group-F, who just happens to possess the best numbers in the entire biennial championships.
Offensively, the unbeaten Haitians have recorded a mammoth 34 goals from four matches at an average of 8.5 goals per fixture. The next best on the scoring chart during the same period is five-time champions, the United States of America with 30 conversions.
The Haiti conversions provided group victories against the Cayman Islands [8-0], St Kitts and Nevis [7-0] and Trinidad and Tobago [7-0]. A 12-0 result against Barbados in their most recent match, the round of 16 section, highlighted the supremacy of their campaign in the knockout round.
Ten different scorers have contributed to prior results, with Melchie Dumornay, the event’s leading scorer, with 10 goals. She is followed by Valentina Ornis with seven goals, while the duo of Dayana Pierre and Florsie Joseph have recorded four conversions apiece.
Next on their scoring chart with two goals each are Abaina Louis, Flero Surpris and Mirline Dorce, while the trio of Esthericove Joseph, Ruthny Mathurin and Rose Alya Marcellus round out their attacking numbers with one each respectively.
Similarly, further analysis of the offensive numbers indicate the Haiti has outshot their opponents by a massive 108-4 score, with 72 of the attempts being on target.
They have also struck the woodwork three times. In terms of their defensive quality, Haiti possess the joint best record alongside the USA with zero concessions.
On the other side of the coin are the Lady Jaguars who recorded a 2-0 triumph over Cayman Islands to seal their quarterfinal berth. In terms of their offensive statistics, the Lady Jaguars, who sport a 3-1 record, have tallied seven goals at a rate of 1.75 goals per fixture.
The other wins occurred against Nicaragua [3-1] and Puerto Rico [2-1]. The only blemish transpired against defending champion Mexico [0-3].
Aubrey Narine has been the main threat for the Guyanese with three goals with Serena McDonald, Jade Vuyfhuis and Shanice Alfred scoring one each. The other goal occurred via an own goal.
Closer examination of the attacking numbers indicate that Guyana has tallied 33 shots, of which 26 found the target. Defensively, the Guyana outfit has allowed five goals following 54 attempts [32 of which were on target], by their opponents.
Guyana’s squad for the clash will be selected from Goalkeepers - Raven Edwards-Dowdall, Aneesa O’Brien; Defenders - Brianne Desa, Vyfhuis, Jessica Myers, Sydney Puddicombe, Hailey David, Anaya Johnson; Midfielders - Kiana Khedoo, McDonald, Shamya Daniels, Horicia Adams, Jenea Knight, Narine, Tori DeNobrega, Samantha Banfield; and Forwards - Nailah Rowe, Alfred, Tiandi Smith and Makayla Rudder.
In the other matches of the section, USA will oppose Canada, defending champion Mexico will tackle Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica will engage hosts Dominican Republic.
According to CONCACAF, the eventual finalists will qualify for the 2020 FIFA World Cup, which is to be hosted by Panama and Costa Rica.