Mexico makes history with shootout win over USA in Concacaf U-20 women's final

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Jan 29, 2018

The USA needed penalty kicks to beat Haiti in the semifinals, but it wasn't so fortunate in the final, losing to Mexico in a shootout for 2018 Concacaf U-20 Women's Championship title.

Mexico, which had never captured the Concacaf U-20 championship, won, 4-2, on penalty kicks after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. The USA had already qualified for the 2018 U-20 Women's World Cup when it beat Haiti, 3-0, on penalty kicks in the semifinals. Haiti will join Mexico and the USA in France this summer after it upset Canada, 1-0, in the third-place game.

The final concluded what was a disappointing tournament for the USA, which opened with a 2-0 win over Nicaragua and then beat both Jamaica and Mexico by 2-1 decisions to win its group. It had entered the tournament with four straight Concacaf U-20 titles. The only times it has not won came in 2004 and 2008 when it finished second to Canada.

In the final, Dayana Cazares gave Mexico the lead in the 33rd minute when she split the U.S. defense and scored with a shot inside the right post.

Tierna Davidson, who made her debut for the U.S. senior national team a week earlier against Denmark, scored the equalizer with a header just four minutes after the break.

Emily Alvarado, who was the hero when Mexico knocked the USA out of the 2014 U-17 World Cup with a shootout win in Concacaf qualifying, stopped shots by Brianna Pinto and Kiara Pickett to give Mexico's U-20s the win on Sunday. She was named the winner of the Golden Glove as the tournament's top keeper. Teammate Miriam Garcia was won the Golden Ball as the top player.

Cazares and Garcia were among six Mexico starters who play for teams in the new Liga MX women's league that launched in 2017. Alvarado, who grew up in El Paso, Texas, plays for TCU. Two other Mexico starters play for U.S. colleges and the other two play for U.S. youth teams.

Jan. 28 in Couva
Mexico 1 USA 1. Goals: Cazares 33; Davidson 49 (Mexico wins 4-2 on penalties).
USA -- McGlynn; Pickett, I.Rodriguez, Girma, K.Rodriguez (Davidson, 46); DeMelo, Howell, Pinto; Smith, Kuhlmann (Kim, 72), Torres (Sanchez, 46).
Mexico -- Alvarado; Soto, Garcia, K.Rodriguez, Lopez; Cazares (Juarez, 72), Hernandez (Villegas, 57), Reyes, Ovalle Martinez, Espinosa (Cruz, 89).
Att.: 275.