SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The United States are champions of the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship for the seventh time after defeating Mexico 2-0 in the
CWU20 Final on Saturday at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in the Dominican Republic.
Michelle Cooper and Talia DellaPeruta each scored in the first half to pace the U.S. to their second straight CWU20 crown.
The U.S. got off to a dream start with Cooper scoring in the 3’ for a 1-0 advantage. A hesitation from Mexico GK Celeste Espino allowed Cooper to swoop in and score the early goal.
The reigning champions stayed on the front foot and were able to double their lead shortly before halftime, as DellaPeruta stroked in a penalty kick in the 42’ for a 2-0 lead.
Mexico sought a response in the second half and had two great cracks at goal, both from Natalia Mauleon. The first was a swinging shot from distance in the 50’ that struck the crossbar, followed by a late chance in the 85’ that forced a fingertip save from U.S. GK Neeku Purcell.
In the end, the U.S. managed to nail down the victory and finish off the tournament without conceding a goal on their way to another CWU20 title.
