CONCACAF Girls’ Under 15 Championships IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida August 6th – 12th, 2018

The Cayman Islands Girl’s Under 15 National Football Team dropped their first points in international play this morning as the local young ladies lost 4-0 to St. Lucia in Group E at the CONCACAF Girls’ Under 15 Championships in Bradenton, Florida.

The Caymanian youngsters got off to an extremely difficult start conceding goals in the 2nd and 11th minutes and a third in the 22nd minute, which triggered a number of changes just before the half time whistle.

In the 31st minute, Alexia Bromfield, Shayana Windsor and Lilly Powery entered the field of play for Raeanne Ebanks-Hydes, Kalie Ebanks and Riley Doyle respectively.
St. Lucia added a fourth in the 35th minute from which the Cayman Islanders would never recover. Ethana Villalobos and Kayla Bradley were sent on in the 36th minute to replace Kasey Golding and Nassaria Whittaker, but with time running out, the deficit was too difficult to overcome. In the 65th minute, the Cayman Islands made their sixth and final sub as Shuwayne Fyne replaced Hannah Scott.

A somewhat disappointed but very proud Assistant Coach Shakeina Bush said, “Our girls tried their best to play their normal game, but we could not find our fluency and we didn’t take advantage of the few chances we created. We played some good football in spurts but our transition from midfield to attack was not the best and St. Lucia’s physical defence caused us a lot of problems.” She added, “We have a lot of work to do but participating in this tournament was a great experience for our players and coaches and we are very, very proud of all the girls. Once we get home, we begin preparations for the CONCACAF Under 17 Girls World Cup qualifiers in 2019.”

The Cayman Islands face Group D runners-up Barbados on Friday, August 9th in a consolation game and will return home on Sunday, August 12th.

Photo:
The Cayman Islands Girl’s Under 15 National Team line-up prior to the St. Lucia game. (Standing, from left) Hannah Scott, Nassaria Whittaker, Kiara Lemay, Chloe Bentick-Lalli, Molly Kehoe and Kasey Golding. (Kneeling, from left) Raeanne Ebanks-Hydes, Riley Doyle, Artemis Deslandes-Hydes, Katriona Williams and Kalie Ebanks.