Hanson Twins Power U17 Women

Mewis Sisters Combine for Goal in Historic Win

July 19, 2008

TRINIDAD – Massachusetts native Samantha Mewis scored twice – including one on a feed from sister Kristen – and the Under-17 Women’s National Team defeated Costa Rica, 6-0, in the team’s first-ever World Cup Qualifying match Friday.

It only took three minutes for the sisters Kristen and Samantha Mewis to make history. Kristen Mewis ran down a ball on the left flank and was taken down by a Costa Rican defender. The midfielder deftly crossed the free kick into the area, where goalkeeper Priscilla Tapia jumped up to meet it. The ball went through Tapia’s hands and to the head of Samantha, who knocked it into the goal. Samantha Mewis’s goal was the first World Cup Qualifying goal for the U.S. at the Under-17 women’s age level.

Kristen Mewis was also a part of the second goal 15 minutes later, when she ran the ball up the left side and passed it into the center for Victoria DiMartino. DiMartino held on to the ball, pulling Tapia off her line and dishing it to her right for a wide-open Courtney Verloo, who faced Tapia and slid the ball past her out-stretched left foot and into the lower left corner of the goal.

“Winning the first game of a tournament of this nature is very important for us,” head coach Kazbek Tambi. “The team played very well, they ball moved very well today and we scored on some nice combination plays. Even though the score was 6-0, Costa Rica is an excellent team. They are technically proficient and their forwards can hold the ball very well. We just happened to score some very good goals, but I still believe they are a quality opponent.”

Samantha Mewis sealed the score for the United States in the 54th minute, when Verloo chased down a ball on the right side of the field, beating a defender to it. Verloo calmly played the ball back into open space at the top of the 18-yard box, where Samantha stepped up to blast in a shot that flew past Tapia and into the upper left corner of the net.

With the victory, the United States earns three points heading into the second match of the 2008 CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship, where they will take on El Salvador at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 20, also at Marvin Lee Stadium. The U.S. sits in first place in Group A, after Trinidad & Tobago defeated El Salvador, 5-1, in the second match of the evening.

The U.S., Costa Rica, El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago are attempting to qualify for the inaugural FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which will be held from Oct. 28-Nov. 16 in New Zealand. Three teams will qualify from the CONCACAF region, including the two Under-17 Women’s Championship finalists and the team that finishes in third place.

U.S. UNDER-17 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT

Scoring Summary:
USA – Samantha Mewis (Kristen Mewis) 3rd minute
USA – Courtney Verloo (Victoria DiMartino) 17th
USA – Julia Roberts (penalty kick) 28th
USA – Victoria DiMartino (Courtney Verloo) 37th
USA – Courty Verloo (Samantha Johnson) 49th
USA – Samantha Mewis (Courtney Verloo) 54th

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alexa Gaul; 20-Amber Brooks, 2-Crystal Dunn, 3-Cloee Colohan, 16-Julia Roberts; 13-Kristen Mewis (14-Olivia Klei, 55), 9-Samantha Mewis (7-Kathryn Bennett, 57), 8-Erika Tymrak (12-Morgan Brian, 73); 15-Victoria DiMartino, 6-Samantha Johnson, 21-Courtney Verloo

CRC: 1-Priscilla Tapia; 4-María Barquero, 5-Gabriela Guillén, 12-Daniela Cruz; 7-Mariela Campos, 10-Katherine Alvarado, 13-Jacqueline Mata (20-Hazel Quiros, 46), 19-Fabiola Sánchez (15-Adriana Guzmán, 66); 8-Raquel Rodríguez Vazquez, 9-Carolina Morales (17-Yocxelin Rodríguez, 19), 11-Raquel Rodríguez Cedeño

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