For the Etiennes -- Derrick Jr. & Danielle -- Haiti success is about family

Derrick Etienne Jr. (left) and Danielle Etienne (right) both represent Haiti internationally. (Photos: Mexsport/CA-Images) OLDSMAR, Florida -- Prior to meeting Canada in the CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship match for third place on Sunday, Haiti midfielder Danielle Etienne received some advice from older brother Derrick Jr.: "Don't be nervous," the Haiti men's international said to her. "Go out there and play the way you like to play." Danielle did, helping Haiti defeat Canada, 1-0, to become the first Caribbean team to reach the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. "It was great to see her go out there and play with such confidence," Derrick Jr told CONCACAF.com. He and Danielle are the children of retired Haiti international Derrick Etienne Sr. Danielle, 17, competed for Haiti at Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad & Tobago, which has become a good luck venue for the family. "I'm starting to think so," remarked Derrick Jr., who scored his first international goal there in a 4-3 win over host Trinidad & Trinidad in January 2017. "I was extremely proud," the New York Red Bulls midfielder expressed. "For her to be one of the youngest on the team is a very good experience. She played very well. She didn't play like she was the youngest. She didn't play scared. She played to the best of her ability." Derrick Jr. did not feel Haiti's win over Canada was as big of a surprise as some observers claimed, despite the fact that the Canadians prevailed 4-1 in their group-stage encounter earlier in the competition. "A lot of people called it an upset, but I don't see it is an upset," he finished. "I felt they were a better team than Canada. They went out there and battled." The Etiennes will have an opportunity for success in another CONCACAF competition, when Derrick Jr. and the Red Bulls open play in the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League against Olimpia in a round of 16, first-leg match on February 22 in San Jose, Costa Rica.