MIAMI.- The U.S. Virgin Islands ended their qualifying campaign on a high note, with a 3-0 away victory against Anguilla. Captain JC Mack, who has carved out a lengthy career in Iceland, scored the first goal that day. Also on the scoresheet was Aaron Dennis, who bounced around the lower American divisions and has now settled in at the New York Cosmos.
Longtime team member Dusty Good, who captained the Dashing Eagle during their historic win in Barbados during 2018 World Cup qualification, is still around and a big factor. And despite taking heavy losses, a silver lining in their qualifying campaign can be taken from the fact that both their home defeats, against Canada and Curacao, came against Gold Cup knockout round level teams.
After playing their CNLQ home matches at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, the US Virgin Islands will take to their new home field on September 5 against the Cayman Islands at the Bethlehem Stadium in St. Croix, which just opened this August with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in attendance. For the USVI, there is no better way to officially open the new stadium than with a highly important competitive match.
With Barbados headlining Group A, it’s absolutely imperative for the USVI to earn as many points as possible against the other teams if they want to steal that promotion place, especially at home.
