PASADENA, California – Defender Kemar Lawrence scored off a free kick in the 88th minute to lift Jamaica to a 1-0 victory over defending champion Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals at the Rose Bowl on Sunday night.
The win avenged the Reggae Boyz’ 3-1 loss to the Tricolor in the 2015 Gold Cup final.
Jamaica will meet the United States for the title Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Lawrence curled a 24-yard shot with his left foot into the upper-left corner past goalkeeper Jesus Corona to snap Mexico’s shutout streak at 438 minutes.
Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake was outstanding once again and earned man of the match honors for the third time in the competition.
The Philadelphia Union star made back-to-back saves in the 12th minute. First, he sprawled to the ground to make a body save on Jesus Dueñas' 16-yard attempt and then denied Erick Torres' follow-up try from 13 yards.
With the Jamaican backline looking to regain balance, Blake was called upon to stop Torres' point-blank header from six yards in the 25th minute.
The Caribbean side’s first chance came in the 38th minute, when Jermaine Taylor drilled a 36-yard free kick toward the lower left corner, only to see Corona beat it away for a corner kick.
After Corona thwarted second-half substitute Ricardo Morris in the 56th minute, Blake punched away Jesus Gallardo's 22-yard free kick in the 65th minute.
The win was Jamaica’s first win against Mexico in eight all-time Gold Cup meetings.
