The U.S. Women earned dominant wins – a 6-0 victory vs. Mexico on Oct. 4 and a 5-0 win vs. Panama on Oct. 7 – in their first two matches of Group A play at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship and have now secured a spot in the semifinal round to be played on Oct. 14 in Frisco, Texas.
But before the team heads to the Lone Star State, the U.S. WNT has set its sights on finishing atop Group A, a feat it will accomplish with a win or a draw vs. Trinidad & Tobago, its final Group A opponent, on Wednesday, Oct. 10 (7:30 p.m. ET; FS2, UDN).
Here are five things to know about T&T:
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ROSTER
T&T has two players playing outside of their country in goalkeeper
Kimika Forbes, who is playing in Colombia, and Kennya Cordner who is
playing in Norway. Cecily Stoute is freshman at the University of Georgia.
GOALKEEPERS (2):
20-Saundra Baron (Unattached), 1-Kimika Forbes (Santa Fe, COL)
DEFENDERS (9): 4-Rhea Belgrave (Real Dimension WFC), 7-Jonelle Cato (Trincity Nationals), 13-Jenelle Cunningham (Real Dimension WFC), 9-Liana Hinds (Unattached), 17-Lauryn Hutchinson (Unattached), 5-Arin King (Unattached), 2-Ayana Russell (QPCC), 16-Cecily Stoute (University of Georgia, USA), 8-Patrice Superville (QPCC)
MIDFIELDERS (5):
11-Janine Francois (Real Dimension WFC), 14-Karyn Forbes (Real Dimension
WFC), 18-Naomie Guerra (St. Augustine FC), 15-Shenelle Henry (Unattached),
12-Kayla Taylor (Petrotrin)
FORWARDS (4):
19-Kennya Cordner (Il Sandiviken, NOR), 3-Mariah Shade (Petrotrin),
10-Tasha St. Louis (Real Dimension WFC), 6-Nastasha St. Louis (MIC St.
Ann’s Rangers)
HISTORY VS. THE USA
The U.S. WNT has played 10 matches in its history vs. Trinidad & Tobago
with six of them in CONCACAF qualifying events. The series dates all the
way back to 1991 when the USA and T&T met in qualifying for the 1991
Women’s World Cup in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The USA is 10-0-0 all-time vs.
T&T, but the Soca Princesses played its best game ever against the USA
in qualifying for the 2015 Women’s World Cup, holding the USA to a 1-0 win
on a goal from Abby Wambach.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Trinidad & Tobago qualified for the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship
by winning its First Round group in the Caribbean zone qualifying over
Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, U.S. Virgin Islands and Grenada. T&T
out-scored its opponents 27-1 to qualify for the final round of the
Caribbean qualifying where it finished second behind Jamaica to book its
tickets to Cary, N.C. T&T opened with a 3-2 victory against Cuba, which
would also make it through to the CWC in third place, as Kayla Taylor
scored a hat trick. The Soca Princesses then downed Antigua & Barbuda
5-0 on goals on two goals for Taylor, and one each from Janine François,
Tasha St. Louis and Kennya Cordner. T&T then suffered a 4-1 loss to
Jamaica, with Taylor bagging her team’s only goal, but then rallied to down
Bermuda, 3-0, on two goals from Cordner and one from Taylor to secure its
spot in the CWC.
LAST MEETING
The most recent meeting between the teams came at the 2016 Concacaf Olympic
qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, a 5-0 U.S. victory in Houston that
featured three goals from Alex Morgan and single scores from Tobin Heath
and Carli Lloyd. Mallory Pugh, Lindsey Horan and Morgan Brian (2) had
assists in that match.
PLAYING FOR PRIDE
After losing its first two matches of Group A play – a 3-0 drawback to Panama and a 4-1 defeat to Mexico, T&T has been mathematically eliminated from advancing to the semifinals of the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship and will play the USA on Wednesday with nothing but pride on the line and a chance to continue to develop women’s soccer in their nation.