BRADENTON, Florida – Haiti and Costa Rica posted victories to open Group E play on Thursday at the 2018 Concacaf Under-20 Championship.
It was far from easy for Haiti against a Saint Lucia side making its first ever appearance at a CU20.
The two teams engaged in a fierce battle from the start, with Haiti taking the lead in the 26’ through Jeffrey Pierre.
Saint Lucia never stopped battling though, but the strength of the Haiti defense the rest of the way proved a hurdle too high to give the Haitians the 1-0 victory.
Costa Rica’s road to victory was far less bumpy as it handled matters in a 5-0 win over Bermuda.
Ronaldo Araya scored a first half brace before scores from Walter Cortes, Andres Gomez and Jurguens Montenegro sealed the three points for the Central Americans.
