St John's, Antigua - Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia kept up their winning form scoring victories over Curacao and St Vincent and the Grenadines, respectively, in Group D of the Concacaf Caribbean Women's Qualifiers (CCWQ) at the Antigua Recreation Ground here on Friday.
Host Antigua and Barbuda moved to the top of the grid with six points when it turned back Curacao 3-0 on Friday, following up on its 1-0 triumph over St Vincent and the Grenadines on Wednesday.
The Antiguans lead by virtue of a plus-four goal difference.
St Lucia, also with six points, has a plus-two goal difference following Friday's close 2-1 win over St Vincent and the Grenadines and its identical 2-1 win over Curacao on Wednesday.
Scoring for Antigua and Barbuda in Friday's second-half blowout were Angelino Kiara (56th minute), Riesmarly Tokaay (64th) and Stephenie Djaoen (83rd).
St Lucia, for its part, got its goals thanks to Silvie Willie (5th minute) and Chresilda Cox (88th), while St Vincent and the Grenadines's equalizing strike came from Darrie-ann Duncan in the 73rd minute.
Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia will meet on Sunday in a decisive contest for group honors at 6:30 p.m. local time, while St Vincent and the Grenadines and Curacao play for pride in the curtain-raiser at 4:00 p.m.
Group C of the Caribbean qualifiers is currently being played in Trinidad and Tobago with the participation of the host, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, US Virgin Islands and Dominica.
Also, Group E is underway at the Lenora Track and Field where host Guyana, Barbados, Bermuda, and Suriname are in a tussle for group honors.
Only the winner of each group advances to the final round of the Caribbean qualifiers that will take place from August 25 to September 2 at a venue to be named. Cuba (Group A) and Jamaica (Group B) have already booked their tickets to the final round.
The top three teams in the final round will qualify for the 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship from October 4 to 17 in the United States. Group A will be played in Cary, North Carolina, while Group B will be played in Edinburg, Texas.
The final stage will take place in Frisco, Texas, and the top three teams will qualify as representatives of Concacaf for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.
With the possibility of qualifying another Concacaf nation, the fourth-place team will engage in an intercontinental playoff against a country from Conmebol, the Confederation of South America.
