Nyah Rose of Canada (right) dribbles past Jessica Nicoleau of Martinique during the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship Qualifying tournament in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Friday, April 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Canada Soccer **MANDATORY CREDIT**
SAN CRISTOBAL – Canada keeps scoring at the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship Qualifying tournament.
Olivia Smith recorded a hat trick for the second game in a row to help Canada defeat St. Vincent and the Grenadines 12-0 Sunday night. That followed a 15-0 rout of Martinique in Group A play Friday night at the Estadio Panamericano.
Ella McBride and forward Rosa Maalouf scored two goals apiece Sunday while Jadea Collin, Nyah Rose, Kayla Briggs, Annabelle Chukwu and Jeneva Hernandez Gray added singles.
Two of Smith’s goals came from the penalty spot.
“We’ve had two games with two different lineups and with these results we’re really pleased with the progress,” Canada coach Cindy Tye said. “It’s really about getting them ready for the next steps. We’re pushing them to execute and play very quickly in this short competition. I’m really happy with what I’ve seen this past week as we look towards our match against Cuba.”
Canada faces Cuba (0-1-0) on Thursday and El Salvador (2-0-0) on Sunday.
The 32-teams at the qualifying event have been split into six groups for round-robin play. The group winners advance to the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship May 24 to June 3 in the Dominican Republic, joining the U.S. and Mexico.
The top three teams will represent CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, at next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Canada has qualified for eight of the 10 previous FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups, finishing runner-up to the U.S. at in 2002 when Canada hosted the event.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2023
