The United States (pictured) celebrates after winning the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship on October 26, 2014, at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. (Photo: Mexsport)

MIAMI – For women’s football in CONCACAF, 2014 proved to be historic in significant ways.  Two of the Confederation’s member associations hosted FIFA events, a new national team champion was crowned and a first-of-its-kind symposium on advancing the women’s game was held in Philadelphia…and that’s just the beginning of a memorable year.

CONCACAF.com takes a look back at some of the best stories:

U.S. wins CONCACAF Women’s Championship

The United States claimed its seventh CONCACAF title, defeating Costa Rica 6-0 in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship (CWC) final on October 26 at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA.  A pair of CWC final marks were broken in the process.  Abby Wambach established a new tournament record for most goals scored with four, while the Americans set the standard for the most goals scored by a single team.  The U.S. improved to 5-0-0 in CWC finals, while Wambach also broke Michelle Akers’ record for the most Women’s World Cup Qualifying goals registered by an American with 18.  The USA, Costa Rica and third-place finisher Mexico each earned a place in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Canada.  Fourth-place Trinidad & Tobago advanced to an intercontinental playoff against Ecuador for the last berth in the competition.  U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd was named the Golden Ball winner as the CWC’s best player.

CONCACAF hosts conference on women’s football

In Philadelphia, CONCACAF hosted “Let’s Develop Women’s Football,” a two-day gathering of prominent global leaders in women’s football.  The event -- held from October 25-26 -- highlighted the region’s vast success stories, providing Member Associations with new strategies and ideas to continue competing at the elite level.  CONCACAF is the leading Confederation for participation in women’s football with more than 26 million registered female players.

Costa Rica hosts FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

Costa Rica became the first Central American country to host a World Cup of any kind, when it staged the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup from March 15-April 4.  The tournament’s 32 matches attracted a total of 284,320 spectators, a new attendance record for the competition.  Japan posted a 2-0 victory over Spain in the final at the Estadio Nacional in San Jose.  Two of CONCACAF’s three representatives -- Canada and Mexico -- advanced to the quarterfinals.  Costa Rica did not make it past the group stage, but it performed with distinction in Group A -- two of its three losses were by only a single goal.  A crowd in excess of 30,000 attended the tournament opener between the Costa Ricans and Venezuela, which was also played at the Estadio Nacional.

Canada hosts FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

After hosting the inaugural FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2002 (when it was a U-19 competition), Canada welcomed the world’s best under-20 sides to its shores once again in 2014.  A crowd of 15,822 at the Stade Olympique saw Germany defeat Nigeria 1-0 after extra time in the final.  The Germans were also part of a pairing that attracted the tournament’s largest attended match, when they defeated Canada in the quarterfinals, 2-0, before 22,421 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.  Two of CONCACAF’s four representatives – Canada and the USA – advanced as far as the quarterfinals, while Costa Rica and Mexico did not make it past the group stage.  There were no red cards shown over the entirety of Canada 2014, making it the first-ever FIFA women's tournament -- senior, U-20 or U-17 -- to end without a single dismissal.

Inaugural CONCACAF Girls’ Under-15 Championship held in the Cayman Islands

In CONCACAF’s continuing efforts to develop women’s football in the region, the first-ever Girls’ Under-15 Championship was held in the Cayman Islands, August 6-17.  Canada emerged as champion from the 16-team field, prevailing 4-1 on penalty kicks over Haiti after their final ended in a 1-1 draw.  Sarah Stratigakis of Canada won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player.

Mexico’s Veronica Charlyn Corral makes a statement

Veronica Charlyn Corral’s credentials as an influential footballer in CONCACAF were already well established.  The 23-year-old Mexico international had appeared in three FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups (2006, 2008, 2010) and one FIFA Women’s World Cup (2011).  She is also the all-time leading CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship scorer with 14 goals.  At the age of 14, she became the youngest player to ever score a goal in a World Cup match, when she connected twice against Switzerland in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.  The past year, though, saw Corral take her game to the next level.  At the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, she netted four goals, including the last two in a 4-2 extra-time win over Trinidad & Tobago in the match for third place.  That result sealed the Tricolor a place in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.  Corral, who plays for Finland’s Merilappi United, followed up those outstanding performances with even more at the Central American & Caribbean Games.  In leading Mexico to the gold medal, she scored a tournament-best five goals, including the first in a 2-0 win over Colombia in the championship match.

Trinidad & Tobago’s emergence on the international stage

For Trinidad & Tobago, 2014 may be remembered as the year it entered the ranks as a genuine contender in CONCACAF.  On August 26, the Soca Princesses made history at home, defeating Jamaica 1-0 in the final of the inaugural Caribbean Football Union Women’s Caribbean Cup at Hasely Crawford Stadium.  Mariah Shade, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, struck for the lone goal.  At the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, the Trinidadians advanced to the match for third place, before falling to Mexico, 4-2 after extra time.  Despite that setback, they were handed the lifeline of an intercontinental playoff against Ecuador for the final berth in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.  After a 0-0 draw in the opener of that series, the South Americans prevailed 1-0 in the second leg, in front of a Hasely Crawford Stadium crowd of 23,000.

Canada hosts FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Official Draw

Canada welcomed the world at the Official Draw for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ on December 6 at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa.  After a record 129 nations entered the competition, which featured 398 qualification matches, each of the 24 finalists discovered their opponents for the final competition's group phase.

CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Costa Rica v Trinidad & Tobago

The Cayman Islands’ Truman Bodden Sports Complex was the location for arguably the most thrilling game played in the Confederation during 2014 as Costa Rica booked a ticket to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on January 19 with a 7-3 win over Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship’s match for third place.  Trinidad was less than 20 minutes away from becoming the first Caribbean side to qualify for a FIFA Women’s World Cup at any level, when the Central Americans launched a rally to recover from a two-goal deficit, scoring six unanswered goals.  Nicole Araya broke a 3-3 deadlock in the 94th minute and fired a brilliant volley into the back of the net two minutes later.

28,255 fans watch Canada v U.S. in Winnipeg

On May 8, Winnipeg provided the perfect backdrop to unveil the Official Slogan for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™: To a greater goal™.  In what turned out to be the second-largest crowd for a women's international friendly in 2014 (28,255), the two CONCACAF rivals played to a 1-1 draw at the new TD Place, one of the six venues selected to host Canada 2015 matches.

Other highlights…

  •  As a 14/15-year-old, Costa Rica’s Gloriana Villalobos played in the following competitions: 2014 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, 2014 FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2014 FIFA U-20 World Cup, 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship and the 2014 Central American & Caribbean Games.

 

  • In January, the United States captured a third straight CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship title.

 

  •  Costa Rica qualified for its first FIFA Women’s World Cup, overcoming Trinidad & Tobago 3-0 on penalty kicks after their meeting in the match for third place at the CONCACAF Women’s Championship ended in a scoreless draw.

 

  • The USA’s Abby Wambach was named the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Player of the Year.

 

  •  Jamaica’s Shakira Duncan had a remarkable year, scoring 14 goals in the CFU Women’s Caribbean Cup and adding two more in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship.

 

  • The USA’s Christie Rampone earned her 300th cap on October 24, 2014, in a CONCACAF Women's Championship semifinal against Mexico in Chester, Pennsylvania.  The 39-year-old became the second U.S. player to reach the mark, joining Kristine Lilly (352 games, 1987-2010).

 

  • Christine Sinclair was named Canada’s Female Player of the Year for a remarkable 11th straight time and 12th overall.  She played in every minute of Canada’s 11 matches in 2014 and, at the club level, scored seven goals in her second year with the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women’s Soccer League.