CU20W: Jamaica earns draw with Honduras

Action from the CONCACAF Under-20 Women's Championship game between host Honduras and Jamaica (yellow jersey) on November 3, 2015, in San Pedro Sula. (Photo: Mexsport) SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – Jamaica rebounded from a pair of one-goal deficits to earn a 2-2 draw with Honduras in the 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship opener for each on Thursday at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano. With that result, Canada – an earlier 2-0 winner over Trinidad & Tobago – finished the evening atop the Group A table. Khadija Shaw was the star for Jamaica, responding on both occasions after Elexa Bahr twice gave the host a lead. Bahr put the Hondurans ahead 1-0 in the fourth minute with a delightful right-footed free kick from near the top of the arc that beat scrambling goalkeeper Shanay Ricketts at the right post. The Reggae Girlz equalized in the 23rd minute as Shaw converted from the penalty spot after Cherry Velasquez fouled Chanel Hudson-Marks in the box. Two minutes before the break, Bahr restored the Catrachas’ advantage, nodding Jinan Abdalah’s right-sided cross into the back of the net from the edge of the six-yard box. In the 73rd minute, Shaw put the sides back on level terms. Shifting play off the dribble from right to left, the 18-year-old was given ample space by Honduran defense. Once she neared the middle, Shaw snapped off a low, left-footed shot from 25-yards out that goalkeeper Madelinne Nieto could not reach with a dive near the right post. Group A play will resume on Saturday with Honduras facing Trinidad & Tobago, while Jamaica squares off against Canada.