FRISCO, Texas. (Oct. 14, 2018) – The U.S. Women’s National Team booked its spot at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup by rolling past Jamaica 6-0 in the semifinal of the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship. It will be the eighth consecutive World Cup appearance for the USA, which has appeared in each of the previous seven tournaments that have been contested and winning in 1991, 1999 and 2015.

The USA scored inside the first 10 minutes in its fourth consecutive game at this tournament with Tobin Heath finding the net just 100 seconds into the game. She then added another goal later in the half for her second career multi-goal game. Megan Rapinoe scored on a beautiful finish in the 15th minute to expand the lead to 2-0. Julie Ertz and Alex Morgan also tallied to hand the USA a 5-0 advantage at halftime. By the end of a dominant first half, the USA had out-shot Jamaica 15-1.

To begin the second 45, the USA made a couple of subs and continued to control the pace of the game and maintained its shooting advantage (11-2 in the second half). The only goal of the frame came via a penalty kick awarded to Morgan, who buried the shot for her 96th international score.

In the first match of the day, Canada defeated Panama 7-0, to earn its berth at the 2019 World Cup and advanced to Wednesday’s championship game vs. the USA. Panama will face Jamaica earlier that Wednesday (5 p.m. ECT; FS2) with the winner of that game claiming the third automatic berth to the 2019 World Cup. The fourth-place finisher will head into a two-game playoff vs. Argentina in November.

The USA and Canada will then clash at 8 p.m. ET for the right to be crowned Concacaf champions. The match will be broadcast on FS1 or FS2 depending on the MLB Playoffs schedule. The game will also be available on UDN.

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Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Tobin Heath, 2nd minute: The USA scored just one minute and forty seconds into the game when a Kelley O'Hara cross from the right side was poorly cleared to the feet of Lindsey Horan. She collected, made room for her shot and fired on goal. Jamaica goalkeeper Sydney Schneider made the save with a dive to her left, but couldn't hold the ball, and Heath, who had drifted into the penalty area from the right wing was all alone to blast home the rebound with her left foot from just outside the six-yard box. USA 1, JAM 0. WATCH GOAL.

USA – Megan Rapinoe (Abby Dahlkemper), 15th minute: The USA doubled its lead after a world class long ball from Abby Dahlkemper – that she struck from inside her own defensive half – flew from the right side all the way over to the streaking Rapinoe on the left flank. Rapinoe brought the ball down in stride wonderfully on her chest and raced into the penalty area with a defender in tow before smashing a left-footed blast into the roof of the net from the corner of the six-yard box. USA 2, JAM 0. WATCH GOAL.

USA – Julie Ertz (Crystal Dunn), 21st minute: The third goal came off a brilliant cross from Dunn who ran down a pass deep in the left corner. She then sent a perfect, left-footed service to the far post where Ertz hammered home a header from close range. USA 3, JAM 0. WATCH GOAL.

USA – Tobin Heath (Lindsey Horan), 29th minute: Heath bagged her brace on a nice piece of ball possession on the left flank that pulled the Jamaica defense to that side. Heath then snuck in behind the defense in the right side of the penalty area and Horan found her with a perfectly chipped pass. Heath's finish was clinical as she struck a left-footed volley past the onrushing Schneider and into the right side of the goal. USA 4, JAM 0. WATCH GOAL.

USA – Alex Morgan (Megan Rapinoe), 33rd minute: The USA scored yet another goal off a set play to go up 5-0 as Rapinoe spun a cross on the ground into the penalty area off a free kick from outside the penalty area on the left side. Morgan lost her mark struck a first-time shot through traffic and into the net from the top of the six-yard box for her 95th career goal. USA 5, JAM 0. WATCH GOAL.

USA – Alex Morgan (penalty kick), 84th minute: Alex Morgan freed herself on the right side and ran towards the goal when a Jamaica defender grabbed her by the waist, bringing her down inside the penalty box. The referee pointed to the spot, and Morgan stepped up and sent the ball into the left side of the goal for her third brace of the tournament in the three games she’s played in so far. USA 6, JAM 0. WATCH GOAL. FINAL.

Additional Player Notes:

• Tobin Heath scored her second career brace tonight (last one was on Oct. 17, 2014, also in World Cup qualifying), and has upped her career total to 25. Heath has scored in three of the four games in this tournament, and in her last four appearances for the WNT. She did not play vs. Panama on Oct. 7. It was her seventh start this year in her 141st cap. She becomes the 23rd player in U.S. history with 25 or more goals.
• Alex Morgan scored her 22nd career brace and upped her international goal total to 96 in her 150th cap. So far, she has scored six goals in the tournament – three braces, one in each game she has played. At age 29, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA's all-time goal scoring list and is third all-time in two-goal games (22), behind only Abby Wambach (37) and Mia Hamm (28). She’s scored 23 goals over her last 23 WNT matches. She leads the WNT with 16 goals in 2018.
• Captaining the USA for the second time in the tournament, Megan Rapinoe scored her 41st international goal tonight and her seventh of 2018. Like Heath, Rapinoe has also scored in three games so far in this tournament. She also did not play against Panama on Oct. 7. Rapinoe leads the USA with 12 assists on the year and now has 56 for her career and is now in sole possession of sixth place all-time for the U.S. WNT.
• Julie Ertz scored her 18th career goal tonight, her second of the tournament and fourth of the year. It was the 26-year-old’s 70th cap tonight. Ertz now has scored three goals in her last five international appearances
• Abby Dahlkemper earned her second assist of the year on a beautiful long ball to Rapinoe. It was her 27th cap tonight.
• Lindsey Horan, who has played in every game for the USA this year, earned her seventh assist of 2018 tonight.
• Crystal Dunn earned her second assist of 2018 on a perfect cross to Ertz. It was her 72nd international appearance and 12th start of 2018.
• Alyssa Naeher recorded her 19^th career shutout and third of the tournament tonight.

Additional Team Notes:

• The USA is 15-0-2 in 2018, with wins against Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (thrice), China PR (twice), Japan, Brazil, Chile (twice), Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica; and ties against Australia and France.
• The USA is unbeaten in its last 25 matches (22-0-3), and has outscored its opponents 89-17 through that stretch, scoring in all 25 games.
• The U.S. has now scored 4+ goals in six of its last seven games and in five straight.
• Six of the USA’s 24 goals in this tournament have come via headers.
• Ten different players have scored in the tournament thus far (24 total goals): Alex Morgan (6), Tobin Heath (4), Carli Lloyd (3), Megan Rapinoe (3), Rose Lavelle (2), Julie Ertz (2), Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan, Christen Press and Samantha Mewis.
• U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis’ three subs tonight were: Morgan Brian for Julie Ertz and Christen Press for Megan Rapinoe, both in the 46th, and Emily Sonnett for Rose Lavelle in the 58th.

USA vs. JAMAICA
Date: Oct. 14, 2018
Venue: Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Broadcast: FS1 & UDN
Kickoff: 7 p.m. CT

Starting XI vs. Jamaica: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 19-Crystal Dunn; 8-Julie Ertz, 16-Rose Lavelle, 9-Lindsey Horan; 17-Tobin Heath, 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Megan Rapinoe (capt.)

Substitutes Available: 2-Emily Sonnett, 3-Samantha Mewis, 6-Morgan Brian, 10-Carli Lloyd, 11-Mallory Pugh, 12-Hailie Mace, 14-Casey Short, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 20-Christen Press

U.S. Team

• U.S. head coach Jill Ellis is starting the same lineup she put out against Mexico in the opening game of the tournament on Oct. 4 and against Trinidad & Tobago on Oct. 10. She made nine changes on Oct. 7 against Panama, and Alyssa Naeher, Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, Crystal Dunn, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe did not see minutes in that second game.
• The USA is 14-0-2 in 2018, with wins against Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (thrice), China PR (twice), Japan, Brazil, Chile (twice), Panama and Trinidad & Tobago; and ties against Australia and France.
• The USA is unbeaten in its last 24 matches (21-0-3), and has outscored its opponents 83-17 through that stretch, scoring in all 24 games.
• All 20 players on the U.S. roster have seen minutes through the first two matches of the tournament. No player has played the total of 270 minutes, but defender Abby Dahlkemper has been on the field the most (257 minutes). Ten different players have scored in the tournament thus far: Alex Morgan (4), Carli Lloyd (3), Megan Rapinoe (2), Tobin Heath (2), Rose Lavelle (2), Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Christen Press and Samantha Mewis. Nine players have assists, with Lindsey Horan leading the way with three.

Starting Lineup

• Alyssa Naeher has 18 career shutouts and will earn cap No. 36 tonight and her 13th in 2018.
• Kelley O’Hara makes her fourth appearance for the U.S. WNT since the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. She will earn her 111th cap tonight in her seventh start and appearance of 2018.
• Abby Dahlkemper will earn her 27th cap tonight. It will be her 14th appearance and 13th start of 2018.
• Becky Sauerbrunn will earn her 146th cap tonight. Sauerbrunn is in 20th place on the all-time caps list.
• The always versatile Crystal Dunn came off the bench to play outside back against France on March 4 after Casey Short was injured about 30 minutes after coming on as a sub herself and has been playing in that position ever since. Dunn will earn cap No. 72 tonight and make her 12th start of 2018.
• Julie Ertz will earn her 70th cap and has scored 17 international goals, most recently against Mexico on Oct. 4. She is one of four U.S. players to have played in all three group games.
• Lindsey Horan, the 2018 NWSL MVP, has played in every game for the USA this year. She will make her 14th start tonight and has scored three goals with six assists in 2018.
• Rose Lavelle will earn her 17th career cap tonight and makes her sixth start this year. She has scored five international goals, most recently her first career brace vs. T&T on Oct. 10.
• Tobin Heath will make her seventh start for the U.S. WNT tonight. She has scored 23 career goals, the most recent one against T&T on Oct. 10. Heath will earn cap No. 141 and is in 22nd place on the USA’s all-time caps list. She is tied with Lindsey Horan with six assists in 2018, second most on the team.
• Alex Morgan, who comes into the match with 94 goals after scoring her 21st career brace against T&T on Oct. 10. She will earn her 150th cap tonight. At age 29, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA's all-time goal scoring list and is third all-time in two-goal games (21), behind only Abby Wambach (37) and Mia Hamm (28). With her hat trick against Japan on July 26, the fourth of her career, Morgan is now fourth all-time in multi-goal games (25) behind Abby Wambach (45), Mia Hamm (38) and Michelle Akers (26). She’s scored 21 goals over her last 22 WNT matches. She leads the WNT with 14 goals in 2018. Morgan leads the USA in minutes played with 1,187 this year.
• Captaining the USA for the second time in the tournament Megan Rapinoe, who has scored 40 international goals and is 15th on the all-time goals list. Rapinoe leads the USA with 11 assists on the year and now has 55 for her career, good for sixth place in U.S. all-time, tied with Heather O’Reilly. She will earn cap No. 143 tonight and make her 14th start of 2018. Rapinoe's 55 assists in 141 caps is the best ratio of anyone ahead of her on the all-time list except for Hamm, who had a remarkable 147 assists in her 276 caps. She has also scored six goals in 2018.

Finally, it’s come to this. The U.S. Women’s National Team is set to play Jamaica on Sunday, Oct. 14 (7 p.m. CT; FS1, UDN) in the semifinal of the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship with a ticket to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup on the line.

The biggest game of the last two years looms, and 90 minutes separate the U.S. Women’s National Team from earning a spot on the grandest stage for women’s soccer.

“This is it,” Megan Rapinoe said about the upcoming match vs. Jamaica. “I think everyone feels the same, that we play these friendlies all the time to put ourselves in the position to be successful in these games. This is for everything, it’s for France. Moving forward we want to win the Concacaf Women’s Championship, but more importantly we want to qualify for France, and this is our opportunity to do that.”

After three dominating wins in Group A play, the U.S. WNT traveled to Frisco, Texas on Oct. 12 after inclement weather forced the team to stay in North Carolina an extra day. And though there’s now just one game standing between the USA and the World Cup, this has been a two-year journey that has seen much growth and increase cohesion develop among this group of players.

“We’ve gone through trials and tribulations, hard losses and tournaments that we haven’t played well in,” Sauerbrunn said of the road the WNT had to get through to get to this moment. “Because we’ve gone through the hard times, we’re appreciating the good times more and we want this to last. Everyone knows what it takes to be at this level and to perform the way we’re performing. Everyone is willing to put the work in.”

All 20 players on the roster have seen playing time so far in the tournament, with Abby Dahlkemper leading the way with 257 minutes, but only 10 have been in this exact situation before – needing to win a semifinal at a Concacaf Women’s Championship to qualify for a World Cup.

“The only thing that’s different about a high-pressure game is that there is something riding on it, but it’s the same as when we suit up against any team,” Rapinoe said. “You’ve got to appreciate the moment and realize that it’s something special and these moments don’t come that often. But also, just continue to play your game, enjoy it and hopefully this is one big game in a string of big games to come this next year.”

The U.S. Women’s National Team topped Group A at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship after outscoring opponents 18-0 to book a spot in the crucial semifinal round. Now, the team is set to face Group B runner-up, Jamaica on Oct. 14 (7 p.m. CT; FS1, UDN), with the winner advancing to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Here are five things to know about Jamaica:

JAMAICA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Sydney Schneider (UNC-Wilmington, USA), 13-Nicole McLure (Sundsvalls DFF, SWE)

DEFENDERS (8): 17-Allyson Swaby (Hottur, ISL), 4-Chantelle Swaby (Rutgers University, USA), 6-Christina Chang (Miami FC Surge, USA), 16-Dominique Bond-Flasza (PSV Eindhoven, NED), 15-Jadyn Matthews (Cornell University, USA), 5-Konya Plummer (Florida Kraze Krush, USA), 12-Sashana Campbell (Maccabi Krishronot Hadera, ISR), 19-Toriana Patterson (Tti Bluebonnets, USA)

MIDFIELDERS (9): 8-Ashleigh Shim (Unattached), 7-Chinyelu Asher (Washington Spirit Reserves, USA), 14-Deneisha Blackwood (Florida Kraze Krush, USA), 20-Giselle Washington (Concord Fire, USA), 11-Khadija Shaw (University of Tennessee, USA), 2-Lauren Silver (Unattached), 9-Marlo Sweatman (Unattached), 18-Trudi Carter (Unattached)
FORWARDS (1): 10-Jody Brown (Montverde Academy, USA)

HISTORY VS. THE USA
The USA has only played Jamaica twice in its history, both in Concacaf qualifying tournaments. The first was in World Cup qualifying in 1994, a 10-0 win in Montreal, Canada. The most recent meeting came at the qualifying tournament for the 2008 Olympics that was played in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. The USA opened that tournament with an 6-0 victory over Jamaica that featured goals from Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath, along with two from Abby Wambach and one each from Heather O’Reilly and Lauren Holiday. Jamaica is trying to make history and become the first Caribbean team to qualify for a FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Defender Jadyn Matthews scored against the USA during the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship last fall, equalizing at 1-1 late in the game, but the USA scored seconds later to take the 2-1 victory. Mathews, who hails from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is a freshman at Cornell. Along with goalkeeper Sydney Schneider and Mathews, two other players on Jamaica’s roster – Giselle Washington and Jody Brown – played against the USA at the last Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship.

GROUP B SUCCESS
In what can be considered a mild upset, Jamaica advanced out of Group B in second place after a 2-0 loss to Canada, followed by a 1-0 victory against Costa Rica on a goal from Khadija Shaw and a 9-0 rout of Cuba. Jody Brown scored a hat trick against Cuba with Shaw, Deneisha Blackwood from the penalty spot, Christina Chang and Marlo Sweatman adding single goals, while Sashana Campbell, who plays in Israel, scored twice. The results were good enough to eliminate Costa Rica, which needed to win by two goals heading into the match to have a chance to advance, but instead fell to Canada, 3-1, in its final group game.

JAMAICA HAS STRONG TIES TO USA
Khadija Shaw, who plays at the University of Tennessee, scored the lone goal for the Reggae Girlz against Costa Rica, tallying less than 30 seconds into the second half. Jamaica, which has just one player playing domestically and four players playing in Europe, has quite a few U.S. connections. Jamaica’s goalkeeper is 5-foot-10 UNC-Wilmington sophomore Sydney Schneider, who hails from Dayton, N.J. Her grandparents were born in Jamaica and she played for Jamaica in the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship last November.

Jamaica has three players currently playing NCAA college soccer with almost all the post-college age players also having played college soccer in the USA. Defender Chantelle Swaby plays at Carli Lloyd’s alma mater, Rutgers University.Jamaica head coach Hue Menzies is the Executive Director for the Florida Kraze Krush based outside of Orlando and he has two players from the club on this World Cup qualifying roster.